Systems and methods for detecting wireless communication jamming in a network

ABSTRACT

An electronic device may include a processor and a network interface that may include a first radio and a second radio. The processor may be configured to perform wireless communication jamming attack detection by occasionally performing clear channel verification utilizing the network interface to determine whether a threshold number of devices&#39; channels are incapacitated in a wireless network within a threshold amount of time and/or by sending a heartbeat signal from the first radio and determining whether the second radio received the heartbeat signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 14/453,455,filed Aug. 6, 2014, entitled: “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTINGWIRELESS COMMUNICATION JAMMING IN A NETWORK,” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to network communication and, more particularly,to detecting wireless communication jamming in a wireless network.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the present techniques,which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed tobe helpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentdisclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Numerous electronic devices may be connected in a wireless networkthroughout a home or building complex. For example, a security alarmsystem may include multiple sensors attached to doors and windows thatmay detect when the doors and windows are opened and closed. Many ofthese sensor devices may communicate wirelessly with a hub device. Thehub may also be in wireless communications with other electronicdevices, such as thermostats, appliances, air conditioning units, hazarddetectors, routers, wall switches, to name a few. The electronic devicesmay communicate with the hub and/or each other using one or morewireless communication channels.

Yet wireless networks may be susceptible to wireless jamming. Indeed, ajamming device might be able to jam communication between two devices byadding large amounts of noise to the wireless channel(s) over which theelectronic devices are attempting to communicate. With all the noise inthe wireless channels, the electronic devices may be unable to send orreceive data. In some cases, the electronic devices may not evenrecognize that the noise is present. Rather, the electronic devices maysimply fail to receive communication from each other, which could occurfor many reasons other than jamming. A first device may stopcommunicating with second device, for instance, when a battery in thefirst device goes dead. In other words, an electronic device may notdiscern whether communication by a sending electronic device is notoccurring due to innocent (e.g., power loss) or malicious (e.g.,wireless jamming) reasons.

As a result, it may be possible for someone to jam a wireless networkwithin a home or building complex to interrupt normal operation of thenetwork. In some cases, communication between the electronic devices maybe disabled without alerting the network owner or operator or theauthorities. For example, security systems that rely on a wirelessnetwork might be jammed and the communication between the sensors andthe hub may be blocked. Thus, a building might be broken into withouttripping the security system because the sensor may not be able tonotify the hub that it has been breached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimedinvention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended tolimit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather these embodimentsare intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of theinvention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms thatmay be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.

This disclosure relates to a smart-home network enabled to detectwhether it is being subjected to a jamming attack. However, thisdisclosure is not limited to home networks, and it may apply to anyenvironment that utilizes electronic devices wirelessly communicatingwith each other, such as an office, airport, restaurant, hospital, andso forth. Wireless networks may be susceptible to wireless jamming.Indeed, certain mischievous characters may attempt to jam the wirelessnetwork utilized in such environments by utilizing a radio transmitteror transceiver to overwhelm the wireless network with noise in thefrequencies used by devices on the network. The present disclosureremedies this devious act by providing techniques to detect the jammingattack and to notify the homeowner and/or authorities once detected.

In a first embodiment, a hub device electronic device is disclosed thatmay include a processor, a network interface that may include a firstradio and a second radio. The processor may be configured to performwireless communication jamming attack detection by occasionallyperforming clear channel verification utilizing the network interface todetermine whether a threshold number of devices' channels areincapacitated in a wireless network within a threshold amount of time,and/or by sending a heartbeat signal from the first radio anddetermining whether the second radio received the heartbeat signal.

In a second embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium including instructions configured to be executed by a hub deviceelectronic device communicably coupled to other electronic devices of afabric of devices in a wireless network is disclosed. The instructionsmay include instructions to receive a response from the other devices toa request sent by the hub device electronic device over the wirelessnetwork, determine whether a threshold number of the other electronicdevices fail to respond to the request within a threshold amount oftime, and communicate, via a side channel, a message indicating that awireless network jamming attack is detected if the threshold number ofthe other electronic devices fail to respond to the request within thethreshold amount of time.

In a third embodiment, a method for detecting a wireless network jammingattack is disclosed that may include transmitting an initial heartbeatsignal via a first radio installed in an electronic device, determining,via a processor installed in the electronic device coupled to the firstradio and a second radio installed in the electronic device, if there isa loss of communication between the first radio and the second radiobased at least upon whether the initial heartbeat signal is received atthe second radio, and transmitting, via a side channel, a messageindicating a wireless network jamming attack is detected if theprocessor determines that there is a loss of communication between thefirst radio and the second radio.

In a fourth embodiment, a system for detecting a wireless networkjamming attack is disclosed. The system may include a first homeelectronic device configured to be installed in a home and a second homeelectronic device configured to be installed in the home. The first homeelectronic device may be communicably coupled to the second homeelectronic device via a wire. The first home electronic device may beconfigured to detect a wireless network jamming attack, to request thesecond home electronic device to confirm the wireless network jammingattack, and to trigger an alarm and/or communicate a message via a sidechannel if the second home electronic device confirms the wirelessnetwork jamming attack. The second home electronic device may beconfigured to confirm the detection of a wireless jamming attack whenrequested by the first home electronic device by transmitting, viawireless circuitry, requests to other home electronic devices in thehome and sending a wireless network jamming attack confirmation to thefirst home electronic device if a threshold number of other homeelectronic devices fail to respond to the second home electronic devicewithin a threshold amount of time or sending a message to the first homeelectronic device indicating that a wireless network jamming attackcould not be confirmed if a threshold number of other home electronicdevices respond to the second home electronic device within a thresholdamount of time.

In a fifth embodiment, a tangible, non-transitory computer-readablemedium including instructions configured to be executed by one or moreserver remote from a home environment that is configured to communicateover a wireless network with a hub device electronic device installed inthe home environment is disclosed. The instructions may includeinstructions to ping the hub device electronic device over the wirelessnetwork, receive a response from the hub device electronic device,determine whether the hub device electronic device is being subjected toa wireless network jamming attack if the hub device electronic devicedoes not respond within a threshold amount of time, and communicate amessage indicating that the hub device electronic device is notresponding if the hub device electronic device fails to respond to theping.

In another embodiment, a means for detecting wireless communicationjamming attacks is disclosed. In yet another embodiment, a means forcommunicating that a jamming attack is detected via a channel other thanthe one that is being jammed is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood when the following detaileddescription is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in whichlike characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a device that may communicate withother devices disposed in a smart-home environment, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a smart-home environment, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a network-level view of an extensible devices andservices platform with which the smart-home environment of FIG. 2 can beintegrated, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates an abstracted functional view of the extensibledevices and services platform of FIG. 3, with reference to a processingengine as well as devices of the smart-home environment, in accordancewith an embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of a smart-home environment in whichseveral devices of FIG. 1 may communicate with a hub device via thenetwork layer protocol, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a jamming attack disrupting wireless communicationsbetween several devices of FIG. 1 and the hub device, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates the hub device detecting the jamming attack,announcing the detection in the smart-home environment via a speakerand/or communicating an emergency signal via a side channel, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates the emergency signal being relayed from a cellulartower to authorities that respond to the emergency, in accordance withan embodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method for detecting the loss ofcommunication between devices within certain thresholds by performingclear channel verification, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates remote servers pinging the hub device to determinewhether it is subject to a jamming attack, in accordance with anembodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method for detecting the loss ofcommunication with devices within certain thresholds by pinging the hubdevice from remote servers, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 12 illustrates a hub device including two radios that transmitheartbeat signals to one another, in accordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method for detecting the loss ofcommunication between the radios using the heartbeat signals, inaccordance with an embodiment;

FIG. 14 illustrates a hub device wired to another device, in accordancewith an embodiment; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of a method in which the hub deviceconfirms a perceived jamming attack with a wired device, in accordancewith an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not bedescribed in the specification. It should be appreciated that in thedevelopment of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering ordesign project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be madeto achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming, but wouldnevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentinvention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended tomean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

This disclosure relates to a smart-home network enabled to detectwhether it is being subjected to a jamming attack. However, thisdisclosure is not limited to home networks, and it may apply to anyenvironment that utilizes electronic devices wirelessly communicatingwith each other, such as an office, airport, restaurant, hospital, andso forth. As previously discussed, wireless networks may be susceptibleto wireless jamming. Indeed, certain mischievous characters may attemptto jam the wireless network utilized in such environments by utilizing aradio transmitter or transceiver to overwhelm the wireless network withnoise in the frequencies used by devices on the network. The presentdisclosure remedies this devious act by providing techniques to detectthe jamming attack and to notify the homeowner and/or authorities oncedetected. For example, if attackers jam the network and burgle a home,the proactive detection and notification techniques described herein mayenable catching the attackers before they get away. In another example,once the jamming attack is detected, a speaker included in a hub devicethat may be executing the detection techniques may broadcast a warningthat the attackers hear and the attack may be thwarted. However, at thevery least, the present disclosure may enable homeowners to rest easierknowing that their network is protecting itself from wireless jamming.

There are several embodiments that enable the jamming detection andnotification described above. For example, in one embodiment, thesmart-home network may include a hub device that wirelessly communicateswith several other devices over separate channels. The hub device ofthis disclosure may represent any suitable device on the wirelessnetwork that communicates with more than one other device. The hubdevice may perform clear channel verification with each device, and if athreshold number of devices do not respond in a threshold amount oftime, the hub device may determine that the network is being attackedand the hub device may notify the homeowner via a speaker and/or theauthorities via a separate communication channel. In another embodiment,the hub device may communicate wirelessly with remote servers thatmonitor the hub device. The remote servers may ping the hub device everyso often, and if the hub device does not respond within a certain amountof time, the remote servers may determine that the hub device is beingattacked and notify the homeowner and/or authorities.

Additionally or alternatively, the hub device may include at least tworadios that send heartbeat signals to each other. If one of the radiosfails to receive a heartbeat signal from the other radio within athreshold amount of time, the hub device may determine that it is beingattacked and notify the homeowner via a speaker and/or the authoritiesvia a separate communication channel. Further, in some embodiments, thehub device may be wired to another electronic device within thesmart-home environment, which may be utilized to confirm whether jammingattacks are detected. If the wired device confirms that the hub devicehas detected a jamming attack, the hub device may notify the homeownervia a speaker and/or the authorities via a separate communicationchannel.

Smart-Home Network

With the foregoing in mind, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a device 10that may communicate with other like devices within a smart-homeenvironment. In one embodiment, the device 10 may include one or moresensors 12, a user-interface component 14, a power supply 16 (e.g.,including a power connection and/or battery), a network interface 18(e.g., including a radio A 20, a radio B 22, a wired component 24, and acellular component 26), a memory 27, a processor 28, a speaker 29, andthe like. Particular sensors 12, user-interface components 14, andpower-supply configurations may be the same or similar with each devices10. However, it should be noted that in some embodiments, each device 10may include particular sensors 12, user-interface components 14,power-supply configurations, and the like based on a device type ormodel.

The sensors 12, in certain embodiments, may detect various propertiessuch as acceleration, temperature, humidity, water, supplied power,proximity, external motion, device motion, sound signals, ultrasoundsignals, light signals, fire, smoke, carbon monoxide,global-positioning-satellite (GPS) signals, radio-frequency (RF), otherelectromagnetic signals or fields, or the like. As such, the sensors 12may include temperature sensor(s), humidity sensor(s), hazard-relatedsensor(s) or other environmental sensor(s), accelerometer(s),microphone(s), optical sensors up to and including camera(s) (e.g.,charged coupled-device or video cameras), active or passive radiationsensors, GPS receiver(s) or radiofrequency identification detector(s).While FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment with a single sensor 12, manyembodiments may include multiple sensors 12. In some instances, thedevice 10 may include one or more primary sensors 12 and one or moresecondary sensors 12. Here, the primary sensor(s) 12 may sense datacentral to the core operation of the device (e.g., sensing a temperaturein a thermostat or sensing smoke in a smoke detector), while thesecondary sensor(s) 12 may sense other types of data (e.g., motion,light or sound), which can be used for energy-efficiency objectives orsmart-operation objectives.

One or more user-interface components 14 in the device 10 may receiveinput from the user and/or present information to the user. The receivedinput may be used to determine a setting. In certain embodiments, theuser-interface components 14 may include a mechanical or virtualcomponent that responds to the user's motion. For example, the user canmechanically move a sliding component (e.g., along a vertical orhorizontal track) or rotate a rotatable ring (e.g., along a circulartrack), or the user's motion along a touchpad may be detected. Suchmotions may correspond to a setting adjustment, which can be determinedbased on an absolute position of a user-interface component 14 or basedon a displacement of a user-interface component 14 (e.g., adjusting aset point temperature by 1 degree F. for every 10° rotation of arotatable-ring component). Physically and virtually movableuser-interface components 14 can allow a user to set a setting along aportion of an apparent continuum. Thus, the user may not be confined tochoose between two discrete options (e.g., as would be the case if upand down buttons were used) but can quickly and intuitively define asetting along a range of possible setting values. For example, amagnitude of a movement of a user-interface component 14 may beassociated with a magnitude of a setting adjustment, such that a usermay dramatically alter a setting with a large movement or finely tune asetting with a small movement.

The user-interface components 14 may also include one or more buttons(e.g., up and down buttons), a keypad, a number pad, a switch, amicrophone, and/or a camera (e.g., to detect gestures). In oneembodiment, the user-interface component 14 may include aclick-and-rotate annular ring component that may enable the user tointeract with the component by rotating the ring (e.g., to adjust asetting) and/or by clicking the ring inwards (e.g., to select anadjusted setting or to select an option). In another embodiment, theuser-interface component 14 may include a camera that may detectgestures (e.g., to indicate that a power or alarm state of a device isto be changed). In some instances, the device 10 may have one primaryinput component, which may be used to set a plurality of types ofsettings. The user-interface components 14 may also be configured topresent information to a user via, e.g., a visual display (e.g., athin-film-transistor display or organic light-emitting-diode display)and/or the audio speaker 29.

The power-supply component 16 may include a power connection and/or alocal battery. For example, the power connection may connect the device10 to a power source such as a line voltage source. In some instances,an AC power source can be used to repeatedly charge a (e.g.,rechargeable) local battery, such that the battery may be used later tosupply power to the device 10 when the AC power source is not available.

The network interface 18 may include a component that enables the device10 to communicate between devices 10. In one embodiment, the networkinterface 18 may communicate using a standard network protocol, such asBluetooth® Low Energy (BLE), Dust Networks®, Z-Wave®, WiFi, and ZigBee®.Additionally or alternatively, the network interface 18 may communicatevia an efficient network layer protocol (e.g., Thread™). For example,the efficient network layer protocol may enable the device 10 towirelessly communicate IPv6-type data or traffic using a RIPng routingmechanism and a DTLS security scheme. To communicate wirelessly on thenetwork, the network interface 18 may include a wireless card (e.g., SIMcard) or some other transceiver connection. Further, the networkinterface 18 may include two radios: represented in FIG. 1 as radio A 20and radio B 22. These radios 20 and 22 may send and/or receive heartbeatsignals over a shared or overlapping spectrum usable to both of theradios 20 and 22. For example, the radio A 20 may be a WiFi radio andthe radio B 22 may be a Bluetooth® Low Energy radio. Additionally oralternatively, the radios 20 or 22 may be any other suitable radiocircuitry. The radios 20 and 22 may use certain overlapping spectrumsuch that one can detect signals from the other. As will be described indetail below, when one of the radios 20 or 22 fails to receive aheartbeat signal from the other, it may be due to a jamming attack. Assuch, the device 10 may respond appropriately. For instance, the device10 may leverage a cellular component 26 (e.g., 3G, 4G, or LTE circuitry)to communicate with devices outside of the local network. For example,the device 10 may contact the authorities over a cellular communicationnetwork (e.g., a wireless telecommunications network). The networkinterface 18 may also include a wired component 24, in certainembodiments. The wired component 24 may enable wired communication(e.g., Ethernet communication) with other devices 10.

The memory 27 may be any suitable article of manufacture that can serveas media to store processor-executable code, data, or the like. Thesearticles of manufacture may represent tangible, computer-readable media(e.g., any suitable form of memory or storage) that may store theprocessor-executable code used by the processor 28 to perform thepresently disclosed techniques. The memory 27 may also be used to storereceived communication data from devices 10 in order to perform thedetection analysis discussed in detail below.

The processor 28 may support one or more of a variety of differentdevice 10 functionalities. As such, the processor 28 may include one ormore processors 28 configured and programmed to carry out and/or causeto be carried out one or more of the functionalities described herein.In one embodiment, the processor 28 may include general-purposeprocessors 28 carrying out computer code stored in memory 27 (e.g.,flash memory, hard drive, random access memory), special-purposeprocessors or application-specific integrated circuits, combinationsthereof, and/or using other types of hardware/firmware/softwareprocessing platforms. Further, the processor 28 may be implemented aslocalized versions or counterparts of algorithms carried out or governedremotely by central servers or cloud-based systems, such as by virtue ofrunning a Java virtual machine (JVM) that executes instructions providedfrom a cloud server using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) orsimilar protocols. By way of example, the processor 28 may detect when alocation (e.g., a house or room) is occupied, up to and includingwhether it is occupied by a specific person or is occupied by a specificnumber of people (e.g., relative to one or more thresholds). In oneembodiment, this detection can occur, e.g., by analyzing microphonesignals, detecting user movements (e.g., in front of a device),detecting openings and closings of doors or garage doors, detectingwireless signals, detecting an IP address of a received signal,detecting operation of one or more devices within a time window, or thelike. Moreover, the processor 28 may include image recognitiontechnology to identify particular occupants or objects.

In certain embodiments, the processor 28 may also include a high-powerprocessor and a low-power processor. The high-power processor mayexecute computationally intensive operations such as operating theuser-interface component 14 and the like. The low-power processor, onthe other hand, may manage less complex processes such as detecting ahazard or temperature from the sensor 12. In one embodiment, thelow-power processor may wake or initialize the high-power processor forcomputationally intensive processes.

In some instances, the processor 28 may predict desirable settingsand/or implement those settings. For example, based on the presencedetection, the processor 28 may adjust device settings to, e.g.,conserve power when nobody is home or in a particular room or to accordwith user preferences (e.g., general at-home preferences oruser-specific preferences). As another example, based on the detectionof a particular person, animal or object (e.g., a child, pet or lostobject), the processor 28 may initiate an audio or visual indicator ofwhere the person, animal or object is or may initiate an alarm orsecurity feature if an unrecognized person is detected under certainconditions (e.g., at night or when lights are off).

In some embodiments, devices 10 may interact with each other such thatevents detected by a first device 10 influences actions of a seconddevice 10. For example, a first device 10 can detect that a user haspulled into a garage (e.g., by detecting motion in the garage, detectinga change in light in the garage or detecting opening of the garagedoor). The first device 10 can transmit this information to a seconddevice 10 via the efficient network layer, such that the second device10 can, e.g., adjust a home temperature setting, a light setting, amusic setting, and/or a security-alarm setting. As another example, afirst device 10 can detect a user approaching a front door (e.g., bydetecting motion or sudden light pattern changes). The first device 10may, e.g., cause a general audio or visual signal to be presented (e.g.,such as sounding of a doorbell) or cause a location-specific audio orvisual signal to be presented (e.g., to announce the visitor's presencewithin a room that a user is occupying).

By way of example, the device 10 may include a thermostat such as aNest® Learning Thermostat. Here, the thermostat may include sensors 12such as temperature sensors, humidity sensors, and the like such thatthe thermostat may determine present climate conditions within abuilding where the thermostat is disposed. The power-supply component 16for the thermostat may be a local battery such that the thermostat maybe placed anywhere in the building without regard to being placed inclose proximity to a continuous power source. Since the thermostat maybe powered using a local battery, the thermostat may minimize its energyuse such that the battery is rarely replaced.

In one embodiment, the thermostat may include a circular track that mayhave a rotatable ring disposed thereon as the user-interface component14. As such, a user may interact with or program the thermostat usingthe rotatable ring such that the thermostat controls the temperature ofthe building by controlling a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning(HVAC) unit or the like. In some instances, the thermostat may determinewhen the building may be vacant based on its programming. For instance,if the thermostat is programmed to keep the HVAC unit powered off for anextended period of time, the thermostat may determine that the buildingwill be vacant during this period of time. Here, the thermostat may beprogrammed to turn off wall switches (e.g., light switch) or otherelectronic devices 10 when it determines that the building is vacant. Assuch, the thermostat may use the network interface 18 to communicatewith a wall switch device 10 such that it may send a signal to the wallswitch device 10 when the building is determined to be vacant. In thismanner, the thermostat may efficiently manage the energy use of thebuilding.

It should be understood that the device 10 may include all of thecomponents illustrated (e.g., sensor 12, user interface 14, power supply16, network interface 18, memory 27, processor 28, speaker 29), a subsetof those components, or additional components. For example, some devices10 may not include a speaker 29, some devices' network interfaces 18 maynot include a cellular component 26, some devices' network interfaces 18may include only one radio or may include more than two radios, and soforth.

An example of a smart-home environment 30 within which one or more ofthe devices 10 of FIG. 1, methods, systems, services, and/or computerprogram products described further herein can be applicable isillustrated in FIG. 2. The depicted smart-home environment 30 includes astructure 32, which can include, e.g., a house, office building, garage,or mobile home. It will be appreciated that devices can also beintegrated into a smart-home environment 30 that does not include anentire structure 32, such as an apartment, condominium, or office space.Further, the smart home environment 30 can control and/or be coupled todevices 10 outside of the actual structure 32. Indeed, several devices10 in the smart home environment 30 need not physically be within thestructure 32 at all. For example, a device 10 controlling a pool heateror irrigation system can be located outside of the structure 32.

The depicted structure 32 includes a plurality of rooms 38, separated atleast partly from each other via walls 40. The walls 40 can includeinterior walls or exterior walls. Each room can further include a floor42 and a ceiling 44. Devices 10 can be mounted on, integrated withand/or supported by a wall 40, floor 42, or ceiling 44.

In some embodiments, the smart-home environment 30 of FIG. 2 includes aplurality of devices 10, including intelligent, multi-sensing,network-connected devices, that can integrate seamlessly with each otherand/or with a central server or a cloud-computing system to provide anyof a variety of useful smart-home objectives. The smart-home environment30 may include one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connectedthermostats 46 (hereinafter referred to as “smart thermostats 46”), oneor more intelligent, network-connected, multi-sensing hazard detectionunits 50 (hereinafter referred to as “smart hazard detectors 50”), oneor more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected entryway interfacedevices 52 (hereinafter referred to as “smart doorbells 52”), and one ormore intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected video cameras 53(hereinafter referred to as “smart video cameras 53”). According toembodiments, the smart thermostat 46 may include a Nest® LearningThermostat—1st Generation T100577 or Nest® Learning Thermostat—2ndGeneration T200577 by Nest Labs, Inc., among others. The smartthermostat 46 detects ambient climate characteristics (e.g., temperatureand/or humidity) and controls a HVAC system 48 accordingly. The smarthazard detector 50 may detect the presence of a hazardous substance or asubstance indicative of a hazardous substance (e.g., smoke, fire, orcarbon monoxide). The smart doorbell 52 may detect a person's approachto or departure from a location (e.g., an outer door), control doorbellfunctionality, announce a person's approach or departure via audio orvisual means, or control settings on a security system (e.g., toactivate or deactivate the security system when occupants go and come).

The smart video camera 53 may be located inside or outside of thestructure 32, as depicted. The smart video camera 53 may be wireless(e.g., Wifi) and/or wired and configured to communicate with one or moredevices 10 in the smart home environment 30. Also, the smart videocamera 53 may be configured to buffer video and record and send video touser devices 66 via the Internet and/or Nest® cloud service 64.Additionally, a software application may be installed on user devices 66that is configured to access a live feed of the smart video camera 53 sothat a user may view current footage. The smart video camera 53 mayinclude a microphone and a speaker in order to enable two-way talkbetween the camera 53 and a user of the application. Further, the smartvideo camera 53 may be battery-powered or hard-wired and includeinfrared LEDs that enable night-vision. In addition, the smart videocamera 53 may be configured to provide alerts to a subscribed orinterested user of newly recorded available footage (e.g., configurabledetected activities). For example, an outdoor smart video camera 53 maycommunicate with the smart doorbell 52 so that any time the doorbell 52is rung and the user is not home, the camera 53 may send the video dataa configurable amount of time before the doorbell 52 was rung and aconfigurable amount of time after the doorbell was rung 52 to the user.In this way, the user may determine who visited the home while they areaway.

In some embodiments, the smart-home environment 30 of FIG. 2 furtherincludes one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected wallswitches 54 (hereinafter referred to as “smart wall switches 54”), alongwith one or more intelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected wall pluginterfaces 56 (hereinafter referred to as “smart wall plugs 56”). Thesmart wall switches 54 may detect ambient lighting conditions, detectroom-occupancy states, and control a power and/or dim state of one ormore lights. In some instances, smart wall switches 54 may also controla power state or speed of a fan, such as a ceiling fan. The smart wallplugs 56 may detect occupancy of a room or enclosure and control supplyof power to one or more wall plugs (e.g., such that power is notsupplied to the plug if nobody is at home).

Still further, in some embodiments, the device 10 within the smart-homeenvironment 30 may further include a plurality of intelligent,multi-sensing, network-connected appliances 58 (hereinafter referred toas “smart appliances 58”), such as refrigerators, stoves and/or ovens,televisions, washers, dryers, lights, stereos, intercom systems,garage-door openers, floor fans, ceiling fans, wall air conditioners,pool heaters, irrigation systems, security systems, and so forth.According to embodiments, the network-connected appliances 58 are madecompatible with the smart-home environment 30 by cooperating with therespective manufacturers of the appliances. For example, the appliances58 can be space heaters, window AC units, motorized duct vents, etc.When plugged in, an appliance 58 can announce itself to the smart-homenetwork, such as by indicating what type of appliance 58 it is, and itcan automatically integrate with the controls of the smart-home. Suchcommunication by the appliance 58 to the smart home can be facilitatedby any wired or wireless communication protocols known by those havingordinary skill in the art. The smart home also can include a variety ofnon-communicating legacy appliances 68, such as old conventionalwasher/dryers, refrigerators, and the like which can be controlled,albeit coarsely (ON/OFF), by virtue of the smart wall plugs 56. Thesmart-home environment 30 can further include a variety of partiallycommunicating legacy appliances 70, such as infrared (“IR”) controlledwall air conditioners or other IR-controlled devices, which can becontrolled by IR signals provided by the smart hazard detectors 50 orthe smart wall switches 54.

According to embodiments, the smart thermostats 46, the smart hazarddetectors 50, the smart doorbells 52, the smart wall switches 54, thesmart wall plugs 56, and other devices of the smart-home environment 30are modular and can be incorporated into older and newer houses. Forexample, the devices 10 are designed around a modular platformconsisting of two basic components: a head unit and a back plate, whichis also referred to as a docking station. Multiple configurations of thedocking station are provided so as to be compatible with any home, suchas older and newer homes. However, all of the docking stations include astandard head-connection arrangement, such that any head unit can beremovably attached to any docking station. Thus, in some embodiments,the docking stations are interfaces that serve as physical connectionsto the structure and the voltage wiring of the homes, and theinterchangeable head units contain all of the sensors 12, processors 28,user interfaces 14, the power supply 16, the network interface 18, andother functional components of the devices 10 described above.

Many different commercial and functional possibilities for provisioning,maintenance, and upgrade are possible. For example, after years of usingany particular head unit, a user will be able to buy a new version ofthe head unit and simply plug it into the old docking station. There arealso many different versions for the head units, such as low-costversions with few features, and then a progression ofincreasingly-capable versions, up to and including extremely fancy headunits with a large number of features. Thus, it should be appreciatedthat the various versions of the head units can all be interchangeable,with any of them working when placed into any docking station. This canadvantageously encourage sharing and re-deployment of old head units—forexample, when an important high-capability head unit, such as a hazarddetector, is replaced by a new version of the head unit, then the oldhead unit can be re-deployed to a backroom or basement, etc. Accordingto embodiments, when first plugged into a docking station, the head unitcan ask the user (by 2D LCD display, 2D/3D holographic projection, voiceinteraction, etc.) a few simple questions such as, “Where am I” and theuser can indicate “living room”, “kitchen” and so forth.

The smart-home environment 30 may also include communication withdevices 10 outside of the physical home but within a proximategeographical range of the home. For example, the smart-home environment30 may include a pool heater monitor 34 that communicates a current pooltemperature to other devices 10 within the smart-home environment 30 orreceives commands for controlling the pool temperature. Similarly, thesmart-home environment 30 may include an irrigation monitor 36 thatcommunicates information regarding irrigation systems within thesmart-home environment 30 and/or receives control information forcontrolling such irrigation systems. According to embodiments, analgorithm is provided for considering the geographic location of thesmart-home environment 30, such as based on the zip code or geographiccoordinates of the home. The geographic information is then used toobtain data helpful for determining optimal times for watering, suchdata may include sun location information, temperature, dewpoint, soiltype of the land on which the home is located, etc.

By virtue of network connectivity, one or more of the smart-home devices10 of FIG. 2 can further allow a user to interact with the device 10even if the user is not proximate to the device 10. For example, a usercan communicate with a device 10 using a computer (e.g., a desktopcomputer, laptop computer, or tablet) or other portable electronicdevice (e.g., a smartphone) 66. A webpage or app can be configured toreceive communications from the user and control the device 10 based onthe communications and/or to present information about the device'soperation to the user. For example, the user can view a current setpointtemperature for a device 10 and adjust it using a computer. The user canbe in the structure 32 during this remote communication or outside thestructure 32.

As discussed, users can control the smart thermostat 46 and other smartdevices 10 in the smart-home environment 30 using a network-connectedcomputer or portable electronic device 66. In some examples, some or allof the occupants (e.g., individuals who live in the home) can registertheir device 66 with the smart-home environment 30. Such registrationcan be made at a central server to authenticate the occupant and/or thedevice 66 as being associated with the home and to give permission tothe occupant to use the device 66 to control the smart devices 10 in thehome. An occupant can use their registered device 66 to remotely controlthe smart devices 10 of the home, such as when the occupant is at workor on vacation. The occupant may also use their registered device 66 tocontrol the smart devices 10 when the occupant is actually locatedinside the home, such as when the occupant is sitting on a couch insidethe home. It should be appreciated that instead of or in addition toregistering devices 66, the smart-home environment 30 makes inferencesabout which individuals live in the home and are therefore occupants andwhich devices 66 are associated with those individuals. As such, thesmart-home environment 30 “learns” who is an occupant and permits thedevices 66 associated with those individuals to control the smartdevices 10 of the home.

In some instances, guests desire to control the smart devices. Forexample, the smart-home environment may receive communication from anunregistered mobile device of an individual inside of the home, wheresaid individual is not recognized as an occupant of the home. Further,for example, a smart-home environment may receive communication from amobile device of an individual who is known to be or who is registeredas a guest.

According to embodiments, a guest-layer of controls can be provided toguests of the smart-home environment 30. The guest-layer of controlsgives guests access to basic controls (e.g., a judicially selectedsubset of features of the smart devices 10), such as temperatureadjustments, but it locks out other functionalities. The guest layer ofcontrols can be thought of as a “safe sandbox” in which guests havelimited controls, but they do not have access to more advanced controlsthat could fundamentally alter, undermine, damage, or otherwise impairthe occupant-desired operation of the smart devices 10. For example, theguest layer of controls will not permit the guest to adjust theheat-pump lockout temperature.

A use case example of this is when a guest is in a smart home, the guestcould walk up to the thermostat 46 and turn the dial manually, but theguest may not want to walk around the house “hunting” for the thermostat46, especially at night while the home is dark and others are sleeping.Further, the guest may not want to go through the hassle of downloadingthe necessary application to their device for remotely controlling thethermostat 46. In fact, the guest may not have the home owner's logincredentials, etc., and therefore cannot remotely control the thermostat46 via such an application. Accordingly, according to embodiments of theinvention, the guest can open a mobile browser on their mobile device,type a keyword, such as “NEST” into the URL field and tap “Go” or“Search”, etc. In response, the device presents the guest with a userinterface which allows the guest to move the target temperature betweena limited range, such as 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. As discussed, theuser interface provides a guest layer of controls that are limited tobasic functions. The guest cannot change the target humidity, modes, orview energy history.

According to embodiments, to enable guests to access the user interfacethat provides the guest layer of controls, a local webserver is providedthat is accessible in the local area network (LAN). It does not requirea password, because physical presence inside the home is establishedreliably enough by the guest's presence on the LAN. In some embodiments,during installation of the smart device 10, such as the smart thermostat46, the home owner is asked if they want to enable a Local Web App (LWA)on the smart device 10. Business owners will likely say no; home ownerswill likely say yes. When the LWA option is selected, the smart device10 broadcasts to the LAN that the above referenced keyword, such as“NEST”, is now a host alias for its local web server. Thus, no matterwhose home a guest goes to, that same keyword (e.g., “NEST”) is alwaysthe URL you use to access the LWA, provided the smart device 10 ispurchased from the same manufacturer. Further, according to embodiments,if there is more than one smart device 10 on the LAN, the second andsubsequent smart devices 10 do not offer to set up another LWA. Instead,they register themselves as target candidates with the master LWA. Andin this case the LWA user would be asked which smart device 10 they wantto change the temperature on before getting the simplified userinterface for the particular smart device 10 they choose.

According to embodiments, a guest layer of controls may also be providedto users by means other than a device 66. For example, the smart device10, such as the smart thermostat 46, may be equipped withwalkup-identification technology (e.g., face recognition, RFID,ultrasonic sensors) that “fingerprints” or creates a “signature” for theoccupants of the home. The walkup-identification technology can be thesame as or similar to the fingerprinting and signature creatingtechniques descripted in other sections of this application. Inoperation, when a person who does not live in the home or is otherwisenot registered with the smart home or whose fingerprint or signature isnot recognized by the smart home “walks up” to a smart device 10, thesmart device 10 provides the guest with the guest layer of controls,rather than full controls.

As described below, the smart thermostat 46 and other smart devices 10“learn” by observing occupant behavior. For example, the smartthermostat 46 learns occupants' preferred temperature set-points formornings and evenings, and it learns when the occupants are asleep orawake, as well as when the occupants are typically away or at home, forexample. According to embodiments, when a guest controls the smartdevices 10, such as the smart thermostat 46, the smart devices 10 do not“learn” from the guest. This prevents the guest's adjustments andcontrols from affecting the learned preferences of the occupants.

According to some embodiments, a smart television remote control 67 isprovided. The smart remote control 67 recognizes occupants bythumbprint, visual identification, RFID, etc., and it recognizes a useras a guest or as someone belonging to a particular class having limitedcontrol and access (e.g., child). Upon recognizing the user as a guestor someone belonging to a limited class, the smart remote control 67only permits that user to view a subset of channels and to make limitedadjustments to the settings of the television and other devices. Forexample, a guest cannot adjust the digital video recorder (DVR)settings, and a child is limited to viewing child-appropriateprogramming.

According to some embodiments, similar controls are provided for otherinstruments, utilities, and devices 10 in the house. For example, sinks,bathtubs, and showers can be controlled by smart spigots that recognizeusers as guests or as children and therefore prevent water fromexceeding a designated temperature that is considered safe.

In some embodiments, in addition to containing processing and sensingcapabilities, each of the devices 34, 36, 46, 50, 52, 54, 56, and 58(collectively referred to as “the smart devices 10”) is capable of datacommunications and information sharing with any other of the smartdevices 10, as well as to any central server or cloud-computing systemor any other device that is network-connected anywhere in the world. Therequired data communications can be carried out using any of a varietyof custom or standard wireless protocols (Wi-Fi, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, etc.)and/or any of a variety of custom or standard wired protocols (CAT6Ethernet, HomePlug, etc.)

According to embodiments, all or some of the smart devices 10 can serveas wireless or wired repeaters. For example, a first one of the smartdevices 10 can communicate with a second one of the smart device 10 viaa wireless router 60. The smart devices 10 can further communicate witheach other via a connection to a network, such as the Internet 62.Through the Internet 62, the smart devices 10 can communicate with acentral server or a cloud-computing system 64. The central server orcloud-computing system 64 can be associated with a manufacturer, supportentity, or service provider associated with the device 10. For oneembodiment, a user may be able to contact customer support using adevice itself rather than needing to use other communication means suchas a telephone or Internet-connected computer. Further, software updatescan be automatically sent from the central server or cloud-computingsystem 64 to devices (e.g., when available, when purchased, or atroutine intervals).

According to embodiments, the smart devices 10 combine to create a meshnetwork of spokesman and low-power nodes in the smart-home environment30, where some of the smart devices 10 are “spokesman” nodes and othersare “low-powered” nodes. Some of the smart devices 10 in the smart-homeenvironment 30 are battery powered, while others have a regular andreliable power source, such as by connecting to wiring (e.g., to 120Vline voltage wires) behind the walls 40 of the smart-home environment30. The smart devices 10 that have a regular and reliable power sourceare referred to as “spokesman” nodes. These nodes are equipped with thecapability of using any wireless protocol or manner to facilitatebidirectional communication with any of a variety of other devices 10 inthe smart-home environment 30 as well as with the central server orcloud-computing system 64. On the other hand, the devices 10 that arebattery powered are referred to as “low-power” nodes. These nodes tendto be smaller than spokesman nodes and can only communicate usingwireless protocols that requires very little power, such as Zigbee,6LoWPAN, etc. Further, some, but not all, low-power nodes are incapableof bidirectional communication. These low-power nodes send messages, butthey are unable to “listen”. Thus, other devices 10 in the smart-homeenvironment 30, such as the spokesman nodes, cannot send information tothese low-power nodes.

As described, the smart devices 10 serve as low-power and spokesmannodes to create a mesh network in the smart-home environment 30.Individual low-power nodes in the smart-home environment 30 regularlysend out messages regarding what they are sensing, and the otherlow-powered nodes in the smart-home environment 30—in addition tosending out their own messages—repeat the messages, thereby causing themessages to travel from node to node (i.e., device 10 to device 10)throughout the smart-home environment 30. The spokesman nodes in thesmart-home environment 30 are able to “drop down” to low-poweredcommunication protocols to receive these messages, translate themessages to other communication protocols, and send the translatedmessages to other spokesman nodes and/or the central server orcloud-computing system 64. Thus, the low-powered nodes using low-powercommunication protocols are able send messages across the entiresmart-home environment 30 as well as over the Internet 62 to the centralserver or cloud-computing system 64. According to embodiments, the meshnetwork enables the central server or cloud-computing system 64 toregularly receive data from all of the smart devices 10 in the home,make inferences based on the data, and send commands back to one of thesmart devices 10 to accomplish some of the smart-home objectivesdescribed herein.

As described, the spokesman nodes and some of the low-powered nodes arecapable of “listening”. Accordingly, users, other devices, and thecentral server or cloud-computing system 64 can communicate controls tothe low-powered nodes. For example, a user can use the portableelectronic device (e.g., a smartphone) 66 to send commands over theInternet 62 to the central server or cloud-computing system 64, whichthen relays the commands to the spokesman nodes in the smart-homeenvironment 30. The spokesman nodes drop down to a low-power protocol tocommunicate the commands to the low-power nodes throughout thesmart-home environment 30, as well as to other spokesman nodes that didnot receive the commands directly from the central server orcloud-computing system 64.

An example of a low-power node is a smart nightlight 65. In addition tohousing a light source, the smart nightlight 65 houses an occupancysensor, such as an ultrasonic or passive IR sensor, and an ambient lightsensor, such as a photoresistor or a single-pixel sensor that measureslight in the room. In some embodiments, the smart nightlight 65 isconfigured to activate the light source when its ambient light sensordetects that the room is dark and when its occupancy sensor detects thatsomeone is in the room. In other embodiments, the smart nightlight 65 issimply configured to activate the light source when its ambient lightsensor detects that the room is dark. Further, according to embodiments,the smart nightlight 65 includes a low-power wireless communication chip(e.g., ZigBee chip) that regularly sends out messages regarding theoccupancy of the room and the amount of light in the room, includinginstantaneous messages coincident with the occupancy sensor detectingthe presence of a person in the room. As mentioned above, these messagesmay be sent wirelessly, using the mesh network, from node to node (i.e.,smart device 10 to smart device 10) within the smart-home environment 30as well as over the Internet 62 to the central server or cloud-computingsystem 64.

Other examples of low-powered nodes include battery-operated versions ofthe smart hazard detectors 50. These smart hazard detectors 50 are oftenlocated in an area without access to constant and reliable power and, asdiscussed in detail below, may include any number and type of sensors12, such as smoke/fire/heat sensors, carbon monoxide/dioxide sensors,occupancy/motion sensors, ambient light sensors, temperature sensors,humidity sensors, and the like. Furthermore, smart hazard detectors 50can send messages that correspond to each of the respective sensors 12to the other devices 10 and the central server or cloud-computing system64, such as by using the mesh network as described above.

Examples of spokesman nodes include smart thermostats 46, smartdoorbells 52, smart wall switches 54, and smart wall plugs 56. Thesedevices 46, 52, 54, and 56 are often located near and connected to areliable power source, and therefore can include more power-consumingcomponents, such as one or more communication chips capable ofbidirectional communication in any variety of protocols.

In some embodiments, these low-powered and spokesman nodes (e.g.,devices 46, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, and 65) can function as “tripwires” foran alarm system in the smart-home environment 30. For example, in theevent a perpetrator circumvents detection by alarm sensors located atwindows, doors, and other entry points of the smart-home environment 30,the alarm could be triggered upon receiving an occupancy, motion, heat,sound, etc. message from one or more of the low-powered and spokesmannodes in the mesh network. For example, upon receiving a message from asmart nightlight 65 indicating the presence of a person, the centralserver or cloud-computing system 64 or some other device could triggeran alarm, provided the alarm is armed at the time of detection. Thus,the alarm system could be enhanced by various low-powered and spokesmannodes located throughout the smart-home environment 30. In this example,a user could enhance the security of the smart-home environment 30 bybuying and installing extra smart nightlights 65. However, in a scenariowhere the perpetrator uses a radio transceiver to jam the wirelessnetwork, the devices 10 may be incapable of communicating with eachother. Therefore, as discussed in detail below, the present techniquesprovide network communication jamming attack detection and notificationsolutions to such a problem.

In some embodiments, the mesh network can be used to automatically turnon and off lights as a person transitions from room to room. Forexample, the low-powered and spokesman nodes detect the person'smovement through the smart-home environment 30 and communicatecorresponding messages through the mesh network. Using the messages thatindicate which rooms are occupied, the central server or cloud-computingsystem 64 or some other device 10 activates and deactivates the smartwall switches 54 to automatically provide light as the person moves fromroom to room in the smart-home environment 30. Further, users mayprovide pre-configuration information that indicates which smart wallplugs 56 provide power to lamps and other light sources, such as thesmart nightlight 65. Alternatively, this mapping of light sources towall plugs 56 can be done automatically (e.g., the smart wall plugs 56detect when a light source is plugged into it, and it sends acorresponding message to the central server or cloud-computing system64). Using this mapping information in combination with messages thatindicate which rooms are occupied, the central server or cloud-computingsystem 64 or some other device activates and deactivates the smart wallplugs 56 that provide power to lamps and other light sources so as totrack the person's movement and provide light as the person moves fromroom to room.

In some embodiments, the mesh network of low-powered and spokesman nodescan be used to provide exit lighting in the event of an emergency. Insome instances, to facilitate this, users provide pre-configurationinformation that indicates exit routes in the smart-home environment 30.For example, for each room in the house, the user provides a map of thebest exit route. It should be appreciated that instead of a userproviding this information, the central server or cloud-computing system64 or some other device 10 could automatically determine the routesusing uploaded maps, diagrams, architectural drawings of the smart-homehouse, as well as using a map generated based on positional informationobtained from the nodes of the mesh network (e.g., positionalinformation from the devices 10 is used to construct a map of thehouse). In operation, when an alarm is activated (e.g., when one or moreof the smart hazard detector 50 detects smoke and activates an alarm),the central server or cloud-computing system 64 or some other device 10uses occupancy information obtained from the low-powered and spokesmannodes to determine which rooms are occupied and then turns on lights(e.g., nightlights 65, wall switches 54, wall plugs 56 that power lamps)along the exit routes from the occupied rooms so as to provide emergencyexit lighting.

Further included and illustrated in the smart-home environment 30 ofFIG. 2 are service robots 69 each configured to carry out, in anautonomous manner, any of a variety of household tasks. For someembodiments, the service robots 69 can be respectively configured toperform floor sweeping, floor washing, etc. in a manner similar to thatof known commercially available devices such as the ROOMBA™ and SCOOBA™products sold by iRobot, Inc. of Bedford, Mass. Tasks such as floorsweeping and floor washing can be considered as “away” or “while-away”tasks for purposes of the instant description, as it is generally moredesirable for these tasks to be performed when the occupants are notpresent. For other embodiments, one or more of the service robots 69 areconfigured to perform tasks such as playing music for an occupant,serving as a localized thermostat for an occupant, serving as alocalized air monitor/purifier for an occupant, serving as a localizedbaby monitor, serving as a localized hazard detector for an occupant,and so forth, it being generally more desirable for such tasks to becarried out in the immediate presence of the human occupant. Forpurposes of the instant description, such tasks can be considered as“human-facing” or “human-centric” tasks.

When serving as a localized thermostat for an occupant, a particular oneof the service robots 69 can be considered to be facilitating what canbe called a “personal comfort-area network” for the occupant, with theobjective being to keep the occupant's immediate space at a comfortabletemperature wherever that occupant may be located in the home. This canbe contrasted with conventional wall-mounted room thermostats, whichhave the more attenuated objective of keeping a statically-definedstructural space at a comfortable temperature. According to oneembodiment, the localized-thermostat service robot 69 is configured tomove itself into the immediate presence (e.g., within five feet) of aparticular occupant who has settled into a particular location in thehome (e.g. in the dining room to eat their breakfast and read the news).The localized-thermostat service robot 69 includes a temperature sensor12, a processor 28, and wireless communication components configuredsuch that control communications with the HVAC system, either directlyor through a wall-mounted wirelessly communicating thermostat coupled tothe HVAC system, are maintained and such that the temperature in theimmediate vicinity of the occupant is maintained at their desired level.If the occupant then moves and settles into another location (e.g. tothe living room couch to watch television), the localized-thermostatservice robot 69 proceeds to move and park itself next to the couch andkeep that particular immediate space at a comfortable temperature.

Technologies by which the localized-thermostat service robot 69 (and/orthe larger smart-home system of FIG. 2) can identify and locate theoccupant whose personal-area space is to be kept at a comfortabletemperature can include, but are not limited to, RFID sensing (e.g.,person having an RFID bracelet, RFID necklace, or RFID key fob),synthetic vision techniques (e.g., video cameras and face recognitionprocessors), audio techniques (e.g., voice, sound pattern, vibrationpattern recognition), ultrasound sensing/imaging techniques, andinfrared or near-field communication (NFC) techniques (e.g., personwearing an infrared or NFC-capable smartphone), along with rules-basedinference engines or artificial intelligence techniques that draw usefulconclusions from the sensed information (e.g., if there is only a singleoccupant present in the home, then that is the person whose immediatespace should be kept at a comfortable temperature, and the selection ofthe desired comfortable temperature should correspond to that occupant'sparticular stored profile).

When serving as a localized air monitor/purifier for an occupant, aparticular service robot 69 can be considered to be facilitating whatcan be called a “personal health-area network” for the occupant, withthe objective being to keep the air quality in the occupant's immediatespace at healthy levels. Alternatively or in conjunction therewith,other health-related functions can be provided, such as monitoring thetemperature or heart rate of the occupant (e.g., using finely remotesensors, near-field communication with on-person monitors, etc.). Whenserving as a localized hazard detector for an occupant, a particularservice robot 69 can be considered to be facilitating what can be calleda “personal safety-area network” for the occupant, with the objectivebeing to ensure there is no excessive carbon monoxide, smoke, fire,etc., in the immediate space of the occupant. Methods analogous to thosedescribed above for personal comfort-area networks in terms of occupantidentifying and tracking are likewise applicable for personalhealth-area network and personal safety-area network embodiments.

According to some embodiments, the above-referenced facilitation ofpersonal comfort-area networks, personal health-area networks, personalsafety-area networks, and/or other such human-facing functionalities ofthe service robots 69, are further enhanced by logical integration withother smart sensors in the home according to rules-based inferencingtechniques or artificial intelligence techniques for achieving betterperformance of those human-facing functionalities and/or for achievingthose goals in energy-conserving or other resource-conserving ways.Thus, for one embodiment relating to personal health-area networks, theair monitor/purifier service robot 69 can be configured to detectwhether a household pet is moving toward the currently settled locationof the occupant (e.g., using on-board sensors and/or by datacommunications with other smart-home sensors along with rules-basedinferencing/artificial intelligence techniques), and if so, the airpurifying rate is immediately increased in preparation for the arrivalof more airborne pet dander. For another embodiment relating to personalsafety-area networks, the hazard detector service robot 69 can beadvised by other smart-home sensors that the temperature and humiditylevels are rising in the kitchen, which is nearby to the occupant'scurrent dining room location, and responsive to this advisory the hazarddetector service robot 69 will temporarily raise a hazard detectionthreshold, such as a smoke detection threshold, under an inference thatany small increases in ambient smoke levels will most likely be due tocooking activity and not due to a genuinely hazardous condition.

The above-described “human-facing” and “away” functionalities can beprovided, without limitation, by multiple distinct service robots 69having respective dedicated ones of such functionalities, by a singleservice robot 69 having an integration of two or more different ones ofsuch functionalities, and/or any combinations thereof (including theability for a single service robot 69 to have both “away” and “humanfacing” functionalities) without departing from the scope of the presentteachings. Electrical power can be provided by virtue of rechargeablebatteries or other rechargeable methods, such as an out-of-the-waydocking station to which the service robots 69 will automatically dockand recharge its batteries (if needed) during periods of inactivity.Preferably, each service robot 69 includes wireless communicationcomponents that facilitate data communications with one or more of theother wirelessly communicating smart-home sensors of FIG. 2 and/or withone or more other service robots 69 (e.g., using Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave,6LoWPAN, etc.), and one or more of the smart-home devices 10 can be incommunication with a remote server over the Internet 62. Alternativelyor in conjunction therewith, each service robot 69 can be configured tocommunicate directly with a remote server by virtue of cellulartelephone communications, satellite communications, 3G/4G network datacommunications, or other direct communication method.

Provided according to some embodiments are systems and methods relatingto the integration of the service robot(s) 69 with home security sensorsand related functionalities of the smart home system. The embodimentsare particularly applicable and advantageous when applied for thoseservice robots 69 that perform “away” functionalities or that otherwiseare desirable to be active when the home is unoccupied (hereinafter“away-service robots 69”). Included in the embodiments are methods andsystems for ensuring that home security systems, intrusion detectionsystems, and/or occupancy-sensitive environmental control systems (forexample, occupancy-sensitive automated setback thermostats that enterinto a lower-energy-using condition when the home is unoccupied) are noterroneously triggered by the away-service robots 69.

Provided according to one embodiment is a home automation and securitysystem (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2) that is remotely monitored by amonitoring service by virtue of automated systems (e.g., cloud-basedservers or other central servers 64, hereinafter “central server 64”)that are in data communications with one or more network-connectedelements of the home automation and security system. The away-servicerobots 69 are configured to be in operative data communication with thecentral server 64, and are configured such that they remain in anon-away-service state (e.g., a dormant state at their docking station)unless permission is granted from the central server 64 (e.g., by virtueof an “away-service-OK” message from the central server) to commencetheir away-service activities. An away-state determination made by thesystem, which can be arrived at (i) exclusively by local on-premisessmart device(s) 10 based on occupancy sensor data, (ii) exclusively bythe central server 64 based on received occupancy sensor data and/orbased on received proximity-related information such as GPS coordinatesfrom user smartphones or automobiles, or (iii) any combination of (i)and (ii) can then trigger the granting of away-service permission to theaway-service robots 69 by the central server 64. During the course ofthe away-service robot 69 activity, during which the away-service robots69 may continuously detect and send their in-home location coordinatesto the central server 64, the central server 64 can readily filtersignals from the occupancy sensing devices to distinguish between theaway-service robot 69 activity versus any unexpected intrusion activity,thereby avoiding a false intrusion alarm condition while also ensuringthat the home is secure. Alternatively or in conjunction therewith, thecentral server 64 may provide filtering data (such as an expectedoccupancy-sensing profile triggered by the away-service robots 69) tothe occupancy sensing nodes or associated processing nodes of the smarthome, such that the filtering is performed at the local level. Althoughsomewhat less secure, it would also be within the scope of the presentteachings for the central server 64 to temporarily disable the occupancysensing equipment for the duration of the away-service robot 69activity.

According to another embodiment, functionality similar to that of thecentral server 64 in the above example can be performed by an on-sitecomputing device such as a dedicated server computer, a “master” homeautomation console or panel, or as an adjunct function of one or more ofthe smart-home devices 10 of FIG. 2. In such an embodiment, there wouldbe no dependency on a remote service provider to provide the“away-service-OK” permission to the away-service robots 69 and thefalse-alarm-avoidance filtering service or filter information for thesensed intrusion detection signals.

According to other embodiments, there are provided methods and systemsfor implementing away-service robot 69 functionality while avoidingfalse home security alarms and false occupancy-sensitive environmentalcontrols without the requirement of a single overall event orchestrator.For purposes of the simplicity in the present disclosure, the homesecurity systems and/or occupancy-sensitive environmental controls thatwould be triggered by the motion, noise, vibrations, or otherdisturbances of the away-service robot 69 activity are referenced simplyas “activity sensing systems,” and when so triggered will yield a“disturbance-detected” outcome representative of the false trigger (forexample, an alarm message to a security service, or an “arrival”determination for an automated setback thermostat that causes the hometo be heated or cooled to a more comfortable “occupied” setpointtemperature). According to one embodiment, the away-service robots 69are configured to emit a standard ultrasonic sound throughout the courseof their away-service activity, the activity sensing systems areconfigured to detect that standard ultrasonic sound, and the activitysensing systems are further configured such that no disturbance-detectedoutcome will occur for as long as that standard ultrasonic sound isdetected. For other embodiments, the away-service robots 69 areconfigured to emit a standard notification signal throughout the courseof their away-service activity, the activity sensing systems areconfigured to detect that standard notification signal, and the activitysensing systems are further configured such that no disturbance-detectedoutcome will occur for as long as that standard notification signal isdetected, wherein the standard notification signal comprises one or moreof: an optical notifying signal; an audible notifying signal; aninfrared notifying signal; an infrasonic notifying signal; a wirelesslytransmitted data notification signal (e.g., an IP broadcast, multicast,or unicast notification signal, or a notification message sent in anTCP/IP two-way communication session).

According to some embodiments, the notification signals sent by theaway-service robots 69 to the activity sensing systems are authenticatedand encrypted such that the notifications cannot be learned andreplicated by a potential burglar. Any of a variety of knownencryption/authentication schemes can be used to ensure such datasecurity including, but not limited to, methods involving third partydata security services or certificate authorities. For some embodiments,a permission request-response model can be used, wherein any particularaway-service robot 69 requests permission from each activity sensingsystem in the home when it is ready to perform its away-service tasks,and does not initiate such activity until receiving a “yes” or“permission granted” message from each activity sensing system (or froma single activity sensing system serving as a “spokesman” for all of theactivity sensing systems). One advantage of the described embodimentsthat do not require a central event orchestrator is that there can(optionally) be more of an arms-length relationship between thesupplier(s) of the home security/environmental control equipment, on theone hand, and the supplier(s) of the away-service robot(s) 69, on theother hand, as it is only required that there is the described standardone-way notification protocol or the described standard two-wayrequest/permission protocol to be agreed upon by the respectivesuppliers.

According to still other embodiments, the activity sensing systems areconfigured to detect sounds, vibrations, RF emissions, or otherdetectable environmental signals or “signatures” that are intrinsicallyassociated with the away-service activity of each away-service robot 69,and are further configured such that no disturbance-detected outcomewill occur for as long as that particular detectable signal orenvironmental “signature” is detected. By way of example, a particularkind of vacuum-cleaning away-service robot 69 may emit a specific soundor RF signature. For one embodiment, the away-service environmentalsignatures for each of a plurality of known away-service robots 69 arestored in the memory of the activity sensing systems based onempirically collected data, the environmental signatures being suppliedwith the activity sensing systems and periodically updated by a remoteupdate server. For another embodiment, the activity sensing systems canbe placed into a “training mode” for the particular home in which theyare installed, wherein they “listen” and “learn” the particularenvironmental signatures of the away-service robots 69 for that homeduring that training session, and thereafter will suppressdisturbance-detected outcomes for intervals in which those environmentalsignatures are heard.

For still another embodiment, which is particularly useful when theactivity sensing system is associated with occupancy-sensitiveenvironmental control equipment rather than a home security system, theactivity sensing system is configured to automatically learn theenvironmental signatures for the away-service robots 69 by virtue ofautomatically performing correlations over time between detectedenvironmental signatures and detected occupancy activity. By way ofexample, for one embodiment an intelligent automatednonoccupancy-triggered setback thermostat such as the Nest LearningThermostat can be configured to constantly monitor for audible and RFactivity as well as to perform infrared-based occupancy detection. Inparticular view of the fact that the environmental signature of theaway-service robot 69 will remain relatively constant from event toevent, and in view of the fact that the away-service events will likelyeither (a) themselves be triggered by some sort of nonoccupancycondition as measured by the away-service robots 69 themselves, or (b)occur at regular times of day, there will be patterns in the collecteddata by which the events themselves will become apparent and for whichthe environmental signatures can be readily learned. Generally speaking,for this automatic-learning embodiment in which the environmentalsignatures of the away-service robots 69 are automatically learnedwithout requiring user interaction, it is more preferable that a certainnumber of false triggers be tolerable over the course of the learningprocess. Accordingly, this automatic-learning embodiment is morepreferable for application in occupancy-sensitive environmental controlequipment (such as an automated setback thermostat) rather than homesecurity systems for the reason that a few false occupancydeterminations may cause a few instances of unnecessary heating orcooling, but will not otherwise have any serious consequences, whereasfalse home security alarms may have more serious consequences.

According to embodiments, technologies including the sensors 12 of thesmart devices 10 located in the mesh network of the smart-homeenvironment 30 in combination with rules-based inference engines orartificial intelligence provided at the central server orcloud-computing system 64 are used to provide a personal “smart alarmclock” for individual occupants of the home. For example, user-occupantscan communicate with the central server or cloud-computing system 64 viatheir mobile devices 66 to access an interface for the smart alarmclock. There, occupants can turn on their “smart alarm clock” and inputa wake time for the next day and/or for additional days. In someembodiments, the occupant may have the option of setting a specific waketime for each day of the week, as well as the option of setting some orall of the inputted wake times to “repeat”. Artificial intelligence willbe used to consider the occupant's response to these alarms when they gooff and make inferences about the user's preferred sleep patterns overtime.

According to embodiments, the smart device 10 in the smart-homeenvironment 30 that happens to be closest to the occupant when theoccupant falls asleep will be the device 10 that transmits messagesregarding when the occupant stopped moving, from which the centralserver or cloud-computing system 64 will make inferences about where andwhen the occupant prefers to sleep. Also, the closest smart device 10 tothe sleeping occupant may be the device 10 that sounds the alarm to wakethe occupant. In this manner, the “smart alarm clock” will follow theoccupant throughout the house, by tracking the individual occupantsbased on their “unique signature”, which is determined based on dataobtained from sensors 12 located in the smart devices 10. For example,the sensors 12 include ultrasonic sensors, passive IR sensors, and thelike. The unique signature is based on a combination of walking gate,patterns of movement, voice, height, size, etc. It should be appreciatedthat facial recognition may also be used.

According to an embodiment, the wake times associated with the “smartalarm clock” are used by the smart thermostat 46 to control the HVAC inan efficient manner so as to pre-heat or cool the house to theoccupant's desired “sleeping” and “awake” temperature settings. Thepreferred settings can be learned over time, such as by observing whichtemperature the occupant sets the thermostat 46 to before going to sleepand which temperature the occupant sets the thermostat 46 to upon wakingup.

According to an embodiment, a device 10 is positioned proximate to theoccupant's bed, such as on an adjacent nightstand, and collects data asthe occupant sleeps using noise sensors, motion sensors (e.g.,ultrasonic, IR, and optical), etc. Data may be obtained by the othersmart devices 10 in the room as well. Such data may include theoccupant's breathing patterns, heart rate, movement, etc. Inferences aremade based on this data in combination with data that indicates when theoccupant actually wakes up. For example, if—on a regular basis—theoccupant's heart rate, breathing, and moving all increase by 5% to 10%,twenty to thirty minutes before the occupant wakes up each morning, thenpredictions can be made regarding when the occupant is going to wake.Other devices in the home can use these predictions to provide othersmart-home objectives, such as adjusting the smart thermostat 46 so asto pre-heat or cool the home to the occupant's desired setting beforethe occupant wakes up. Further, these predictions can be used to set the“smart alarm clock” for the occupant, to turn on lights, etc.

According to embodiments, technologies including the sensors 12 of thesmart devices 10 located throughout the smart-home environment 30 incombination with rules-based inference engines or artificialintelligence provided at the central server or cloud-computing system 64are used to detect or monitor the progress of Alzheimer's Disease. Forexample, the unique signatures of the occupants are used to track theindividual occupants' movement throughout the smart-home environment 30.This data can be aggregated and analyzed to identify patterns indicativeof Alzheimer's. Oftentimes, individuals with Alzheimer's havedistinctive patterns of migration in their homes. For example, a personwill walk to the kitchen and stand there for a while, then to the livingroom and stand there for a while, and then back to the kitchen. Thispattern will take about thirty minutes, and then the person will repeatthe pattern. According to embodiments, the remote servers or cloudcomputing architectures 64 analyze the person's migration data collectedby the mesh network of the smart-home environment 30 to identify suchpatterns.

In addition, another device 10 in the smart-home environment 30 mayinclude a hub device 72, such as a Nest® hub device. In someembodiments, the hub device 72 may be an example of the “master” panelpreviously mentioned regarding the security system. The hub device 72may communicate wirelessly over the wireless network provided by therouter 60 with each of the other devices 10 in the smart-homeenvironment 30 via separate channels. For example, the hub device 72 maymonitor each device 10 to ensure it is active and communicating bypinging each device 10 over its individual channel. Further, the hubdevice 72 may communicate with remote servers such as Nest® servers 64,over the Internet via WiFi or its wired component 24 and/or over 3G viaits cellular component 26. Additionally, the hub device 72 maycommunicate with cellular towers via its cellular component 26 as analternative communication medium in case its wireless network is beingsubjected to a jamming attack. Thus, and as will be described in detailbelow, the hub device 72 provides robust mechanisms to detect wirelesscommunication jamming attacks and notify the proper parties of theincident. As may be appreciated, employing such techniques greatlyenhances the security a homeowner may experience and may deter crime.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, an embodiment of the extensible devices andservices platform 80 includes a processing engine 86, which can beconcentrated at a single server or distributed among several differentcomputing entities without limitation. The processing engine 86 caninclude engines configured to receive data from devices of smart-homeenvironments 30 (e.g., via the Internet 62 or a hubbed network), toindex the data, to analyze the data and/or to generate statistics basedon the analysis or as part of the analysis. The analyzed data can bestored as derived home data 88.

Results of the analysis or statistics can thereafter be transmitted backto the device 10 that provided home data used to derive the results, toother devices 10, to a server providing a webpage to a user of thedevice 10, or to other non-device entities. For example, use statistics,use statistics relative to use of other devices 10, use patterns, and/orstatistics summarizing sensor 12 readings can be generated by theprocessing engine 86 and transmitted. The results or statistics can beprovided via the Internet 62. In this manner, the processing engine 86can be configured and programmed to derive a variety of usefulinformation from the home data 82. A single server can include one ormore engines.

The derived data can be highly beneficial at a variety of differentgranularities for a variety of useful purposes, ranging from explicitprogrammed control of the devices on a per-home, per-neighborhood, orper-region basis (for example, demand-response programs for electricalutilities), to the generation of inferential abstractions that canassist on a per-home basis (for example, an inference can be drawn thatthe homeowner has left for vacation and so security detection equipmentcan be put on heightened sensitivity), to the generation of statisticsand associated inferential abstractions that can be used for governmentor charitable purposes. For example, processing engine 86 can generatestatistics about device 10 usage across a population of devices 10 andsend the statistics to device users, service providers or other entities(e.g., that have requested or may have provided monetary compensationfor the statistics).

According to some embodiments, the home data 82, the derived home data88, and/or another data can be used to create “automated neighborhoodsafety networks.” For example, in the event the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 receives data indicating that aparticular home has been broken into, is experiencing a fire, or someother type of emergency event, an alarm is sent to other smart homes inthe “neighborhood.” In some instances, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 automatically identifies smart homeswithin a radius of the home experiencing the emergency and sends analarm to the identified homes. In such instances, the other homes in the“neighborhood” do not have to sign up for or register to be a part of asafety network, but instead are notified of an emergency based on theirproximity to the location of the emergency. This creates robust andevolving neighborhood security watch networks, such that if one person'shome is getting broken into, an alarm can be sent to nearby homes, suchas by audio announcements via the smart devices 10 located in thosehomes. It should be appreciated that this can be an opt-in service andthat, in addition to or instead of the central server or cloud-computingarchitecture 64 selecting which homes to send alerts to, individuals cansubscribe to participate in such networks and individuals can specifywhich homes they want to receive alerts from. This can include, forexample, the homes of family members who live in different cities, suchthat individuals can receive alerts when their loved ones in otherlocations are experiencing an emergency.

According to some embodiments, sound, vibration, and/or motion sensingcomponents of the smart devices 10 are used to detect sound, vibration,and/or motion created by running water. Based on the detected sound,vibration, and/or motion, the central server or cloud-computingarchitecture 64 makes inferences about water usage in the home andprovides related services. For example, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 can run programs/algorithms thatrecognize what water sounds like and when it is running in the home.According to one embodiment, to map the various water sources of thehome, upon detecting running water, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 sends a message to an occupant's mobiledevice asking if water is currently running or if water has beenrecently run in the home and, if so, which room and whichwater-consumption appliance (e.g., sink, shower, toilet, etc.) was thesource of the water. This enables the central server or cloud-computingarchitecture 64 to determine the “signature” or “fingerprint” of eachwater source in the home. This is sometimes referred to herein as “audiofingerprinting water usage.”

In one illustrative example, the central server or cloud-computingarchitecture 64 creates a signature for the toilet in the masterbathroom, and whenever that toilet is flushed, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 will know that the water usage at thattime is associated with that toilet. Thus, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 can track the water usage of that toiletas well as each water-consumption application in the home. Thisinformation can be correlated to water bills or smart water meters so asto provide users with a breakdown of their water usage.

According to some embodiments, sound, vibration, and/or motion sensingcomponents of the smart devices 10 are used to detect sound, vibration,and/or motion created by mice and other rodents as well as by termites,cockroaches, and other insects (collectively referred to as “pests”).Based on the detected sound, vibration, and/or motion, the centralserver or cloud-computing architecture 64 makes inferences aboutpest-detection in the home and provides related services. For example,the central server or cloud-computing architecture 64 can runprograms/algorithms that recognize what certain pests sound like, howthey move, and/or the vibration they create, individually and/orcollectively. According to one embodiment, the central server orcloud-computing architecture 64 can determine the “signatures” ofparticular types of pests.

For example, in the event the central server or cloud-computingarchitecture 64 detects sounds that may be associated with pests, itnotifies the occupants of such sounds and suggests hiring a pest controlcompany. If it is confirmed that pests are indeed present, the occupantsinput to the central server or cloud-computing architecture 64 confirmsthat its detection was correct, along with details regarding theidentified pests, such as name, type, description, location, quantity,etc. This enables the central server or cloud-computing architecture 64to “tune” itself for better detection and create “signatures” or“fingerprints” for specific types of pests. For example, the centralserver or cloud-computing architecture 64 can use the tuning as well asthe signatures and fingerprints to detect pests in other homes, such asnearby homes that may be experiencing problems with the same pests.Further, for example, in the event that two or more homes in a“neighborhood” are experiencing problems with the same or similar typesof pests, the central server or cloud-computing architecture 64 can makeinferences that nearby homes may also have such problems or may besusceptible to having such problems, and it can send warning messages tothose homes to help facilitate early detection and prevention.

In some embodiments, to encourage innovation and research and toincrease products and services available to users, the devices andservices platform 80 expose a range of application programminginterfaces (APIs) 90 to third parties, such as charities 94,governmental entities 96 (e.g., the Food and Drug Administration or theEnvironmental Protection Agency), academic institutions 98 (e.g.,university researchers), businesses 100 (e.g., providing devicewarranties or service to related equipment, targeting advertisementsbased on home data), utility companies 102, and other third parties. TheAPIs 90 are coupled to and permit third-party systems to communicatewith the central server or the cloud-computing system 64, including theservices 84, the processing engine 86, the home data 82, and the derivedhome data 88. For example, the APIs 90 allow applications executed bythe third parties to initiate specific data processing tasks that areexecuted by the central server or the cloud-computing system 64, as wellas to receive dynamic updates to the home data 82 and the derived homedata 88.

For example, third parties can develop programs and/or applications,such as web or mobile apps, that integrate with the central server orthe cloud-computing system 64 to provide services and information tousers. Such programs and application may be, for example, designed tohelp users reduce energy consumption, to preemptively service faultyequipment, to prepare for high service demands, to track past serviceperformance, etc., or to perform any of a variety of beneficialfunctions or tasks now known or hereinafter developed.

According to some embodiments, third-party applications make inferencesfrom the home data 82 and the derived home data 88, such inferences mayinclude when are occupants home, when are they sleeping, when are theycooking, when are they in the den watching television, and when do theyshower. The answers to these questions may help third-parties benefitconsumers by providing them with interesting information, products andservices as well as with providing them with targeted advertisements.

In one example, a shipping company creates an application that makesinferences regarding when people are at home. The application uses theinferences to schedule deliveries for times when people will most likelybe at home. The application can also build delivery routes around thesescheduled times. This reduces the number of instances where the shippingcompany has to make multiple attempts to deliver packages, and itreduces the number of times consumers have to pick up their packagesfrom the shipping company.

To further illustrate, FIG. 4 describes an abstracted functional view110 of the extensible devices and services platform 80 of FIG. 3, withparticular reference to the processing engine 86 as well as devices,such as those of the smart-home environment 30 of FIG. 2. Even thoughdevices 10 situated in smart-home environments 30 will have an endlessvariety of different individual capabilities and limitations, they canall be thought of as sharing common characteristics in that each of themis a data consumer 112 (DC), a data source 114 (DS), a services consumer116 (SC), and a services source 118 (SS). Advantageously, in addition toproviding the essential control information needed for the devices 10 toachieve their local and immediate objectives, the extensible devices andservices platform 80 can also be configured to harness the large amountof data that is flowing out of these devices. In addition to enhancingor optimizing the actual operation of the devices 10 themselves withrespect to their immediate functions, the extensible devices andservices platform 80 can be directed to “repurposing” that data in avariety of automated, extensible, flexible, and/or scalable ways toachieve a variety of useful objectives. These objectives may bepredefined or adaptively identified based on, e.g., usage patterns,device efficiency, and/or user input (e.g., requesting specificfunctionality).

For example, FIG. 4 shows processing engine 86 as including a number ofparadigms 120. Processing engine 86 can include a managed servicesparadigm 120 a that monitors and manages primary or secondary device 10functions. The device 10 functions can include ensuring proper operationof a device 10 given user inputs, estimating that (e.g., and respondingto an instance in which) an intruder is or is attempting to be in adwelling, detecting a failure of equipment coupled to the device 10(e.g., a light bulb having burned out), implementing or otherwiseresponding to energy demand response events, or alerting a user of acurrent or predicted future event or characteristic. Processing engine86 can further include an advertising/communication paradigm 120 b thatestimates characteristics (e.g., demographic information), desiresand/or products of interest of a user based on device usage. Services,promotions, products or upgrades can then be offered or automaticallyprovided to the user. Processing engine 86 can further include a socialparadigm 120 c that uses information from a social network, providesinformation to a social network (for example, based on device usage),and/or processes data associated with user and/or device 10 interactionswith the social network platform. For example, a user's status asreported to their trusted contacts on the social network could beupdated to indicate when they are home based on light detection,security system inactivation or device usage detectors. As anotherexample, a user may be able to share device-usage statistics with otherusers. In yet another example, a user may share HVAC settings thatresult in low power bills and other users may download the HVAC settingsto their smart thermostat 46 to reduce their power bills.

The processing engine 86 can include achallenges/rules/compliance/rewards paradigm 120 d that informs a userof challenges, competitions, rules, compliance regulations and/orrewards and/or that uses operation data to determine whether a challengehas been met, a rule or regulation has been complied with and/or areward has been earned. The challenges, rules or regulations can relateto efforts to conserve energy, to live safely (e.g., reducing exposureto toxins or carcinogens), to conserve money and/or equipment life, toimprove health, etc. For example, one challenge may involve participantsturning down their thermostat 46 by one degree for one week. Those thatsuccessfully complete the challenge are rewarded, such as by coupons,virtual currency, status, etc. Regarding compliance, an example involvesa rental-property owner making a rule that no renters are permitted toaccess certain owner's rooms. The devices 10 in the room havingoccupancy sensors could send updates to the owner when the room isaccessed.

The processing engine 86 can integrate or otherwise utilize extrinsicinformation 122 from extrinsic sources to improve the functioning of oneor more processing paradigms. Extrinsic information 122 can be used tointerpret data received from a device 10, to determine a characteristicof the environment near the device 10 (e.g., outside a structure thatthe device is enclosed in), to determine services or products availableto the user, to identify a social network or social-network information,to determine contact information of entities (e.g., public-serviceentities such as an emergency-response team, the police or a hospital)near the device 10, etc., to identify statistical or environmentalconditions, trends or other information associated with a home orneighborhood, and so forth.

An extraordinary range and variety of benefits can be brought about by,and fit within the scope of, the described extensible devices andservices platform 80, ranging from the ordinary to the profound. Thus,in one “ordinary” example, each bedroom of the smart-home environment 30can be provided with a smart wall switch 54, a smart wall plug 56,and/or smart hazard detectors 50, all or some of which include anoccupancy sensor, wherein the occupancy sensor is also capable ofinferring (e.g., by virtue of motion detection, facial recognition,audible sound patterns, etc.) whether the occupant is asleep or awake.If a serious fire event is sensed, the remote security/monitoringservice or fire department is advised of how many occupants there are ineach bedroom, and whether those occupants are still asleep (or immobile)or whether they have properly evacuated the bedroom. While this is, ofcourse, a very advantageous capability accommodated by the describedextensible devices and services platform 80, there can be substantiallymore “profound” examples that can truly illustrate the potential of alarger “intelligence” that can be made available. By way of perhaps amore “profound” example, the same bedroom occupancy data that is beingused for fire safety can also be “repurposed” by the processing engine86 in the context of a social paradigm of neighborhood child developmentand education. Thus, for example, the same bedroom occupancy and motiondata discussed in the “ordinary” example can be collected and madeavailable (properly anonymized) for processing in which the sleeppatterns of schoolchildren in a particular ZIP code can be identifiedand tracked. Localized variations in the sleeping patterns of theschoolchildren may be identified and correlated, for example, todifferent nutrition programs in local schools.

Detecting Wireless Jamming

As previously discussed, the described extensible devices and servicesplatform 80 may enable communicating emergency information forsmart-home environments 30 that are linked and/or to the properauthorities. For example, when a burglar breaks into a smart-homeenvironment 30, a home security system may trip and sound an alarmand/or send emergency notifications to the neighbors, the police, thesecurity company, and the like. However, in instances where the break inis preceded by a jamming attack on the wireless network, thenotifications may not be sent out if their transmission is dependentupon the wireless network. Thus, another means to communicate withexternal parties may be desired. As such, some of the techniquesdisclosed herein may detect the jamming attack and send emergencynotifications via side channels that are not dependent upon the wirelessnetwork being jammed.

To illustrate an example jamming attack, FIGS. 5-8 depict a smart-homenetwork communicating normally, being attacked, detecting the jammingattack, and notifying the homeowner and/or authorities. It should beunderstood that the hub device 72 depicted may be any of the devices 10described above (e.g., thermostat 46, hazard detector 50, video camera53, etc.) or the hub device 72 may be a stand-alone device used forfacilitating communication of alarms. As mentioned above, the hub device72 may wirelessly communicate with each device 10 in the smart-homeenvironment 30. Specifically, FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of asmart-home environment 30 in which the thermostat 46, the hazarddetector 50, and the wall switch 54 are wirelessly communicating withthe hub device 72 (represented by dashed lines 124). The devices 10 maybe utilized as part of a home security system in that some or all of thedevices 10 may include motion detectors (e.g., sensors 12), speakers 29,and the like for detecting occupancy. When the system is in an “away”mode (occupants are expected to be outside of the smart-home environment30), the sensors 12 may be used to detect unwanted intrusions. Ifdetected, an alarm may be triggered using the one or more speakers 29.In addition, the indoor and/or outdoor video cameras 53 previouslydiscussed may also be a part of the home security system and the cameras53 may trigger an alarm if an unexpected intruder is seen. The hubdevice 72 may be enabled to control the devices 10 it communicates withby turning them on or off, regulating power usage, providing operatinginstructions, and so forth. As such, the hub device 72 may acquire datafrom connected devices 10 to perform analysis and/or to transmit toremote servers 64 (e.g., Nest® servers). For example, the hub device 72may acquire energy usage information from the wall switch 54 todetermine when a homeowner typically uses the room and may determine toturn the wall switch 54 off when the homeowner typically is not usingthe room. This may be beneficial when a homeowner accidentally left thewall switch 54 on.

Also, the hub device 72 may wirelessly communicate with each device 10over separate channels so that if any one channel is non-responsive, thehub device 72 may indicate to the user which specific device 10 is down.A channel may be unresponsive if the associated device's batteries aredrained or fell out, the device 10 is malfunctioning, or the like.Further, as described in detail below with reference to FIG. 9, the hubdevice 72 may perform clear channel verification on each wirelesslyconnected devices' channel, and if a certain threshold number ofdevices' channels become incapacitated within a certain threshold periodof time or are incapacitated for a certain threshold period of time,then the hub device 72 may determine that the wireless network is beingjammed.

To continue the jamming attack example, FIG. 6 illustrates a criminal126 with a radio transceiver 128 that has obtained access to thewireless network and is jamming the network by transmitting a maliciouswireless signal 130 (represented by wavy lines). It should be noted thatany device capable of performing a jamming attack on a wireless networkmay be utilized, and the disclosure is not limited to radiotransceivers. As seen in FIG. 6, communications between the hub device72 and the thermostat 46, the wall switch 54, and the hazard detector 50are blocked by the malicious wireless signal 130 (represented bylightning bolts 132). Although only three devices 10 are shown as beingjammed on the network, it should be understood that more or fewerdevices 10 communicating over the wireless network within the smart-homeenvironment 30 may be blocked by the radio transceiver 128. As such, thehub device 72 may occasionally determine whether it is being jammed. Inone example, the hub device 72 may perform clear channel verificationwith each device 10 to determine whether each communication channel thatthe hub device 72 is using to communicate with the devices 10 isincapacitated. The hub device 72 thus may determine that the wirelessnetwork is being attacked. The various ways that wireless jammingattacks may be detected will be described in greater detail below.

Thus, in FIG. 7, the hub device 72 has detected the wirelesscommunication jamming attack and is notifying a homeowner 134 that ajamming attack is detected (represented by a dialogue bubble 136) viathe speaker 29 of the hub device 72. Any suitable audio indication, suchas words or sounds, may be emitted from the speaker 29 to indicate thata jamming attack has been detected. Further, in some embodiments, thespeaker 29 may emit other audio signals, such as beeps or other audiocommunication signals, that can be detected by microphones of otherelectronic devices 10. In one example, a device 10 such as the router 60may “hear” and decipher the audio signal to determine that the hubdevice 72 has detected a jamming attack. The hub device 72 may transmitan emergency signal to authorities (e.g., the police) via a side channel(e.g., a wired connection to the Internet 62). There may also be ahard-wired node (e.g., a video camera 53 hard-wired to the Internet viaEthernet) that includes a microphone that hears a verbal alarm or audiosignal and deciphers whether a jamming attack is detected or not. Ifdetected, the video camera 53 may transmit an emergency signal via itshard-wired Internet connection. Additionally or alternatively, a mobilecellular device (e.g., a cellular phone) belonging to the homeowner 134may detect the audio signal in a similar manner as mentioned above.After detecting the emergency audio signal, the mobile cellular devicebelonging to the homeowner 134 may leverage its 3G/4G cellular networkconnection to send an emergency signal to the authorities if the homewireless network is blocked (and even if a wired connection to theInternet 62 is unavailable, such as if a fiber optic or coaxial cableconnection to the house is cut).

Returning to the example of FIG. 7, as a result of the audionotification 136, the homeowner 134 may be startled and caught offguard, especially if the jamming attack occurs while the homeowner 134is at home and asleep. However, after hearing the audio notification136, the homeowner 134 may use a mobile device and/or other Internet 62connected devices to call the police. Consequently, the detection andnotification of the jamming attack may thwart a criminal plan tooverwhelm the wireless network.

Additionally or alternatively, the hub device 72 may transmit anemergency signal 138 via a separate communication channel to theauthorities and/or remote servers. For example, the hub device 72 mayutilize the cellular component 26 to transmit the signal 88 to acellular tower 140, since its ability to communicate via the localwireless network has been compromised. The emergency signal 138 mayinclude certain data such as the desired party to send the signal, theaddress of the home where the attack is detected, the name of thehomeowner, the time of the detection, a message (e.g., “Wireless jammingattack detected!”), sensor and/or camera data from any devices 10 notimpacted by the wireless jamming attack, and so forth. The cellulartower 140 may relay the emergency signal 138 to the desired party, suchas the police, remote servers, security company, the homeowner 134, andso forth. Thus, even if the homeowner 134 fails to contact theauthorities for any reason, the hub device 72 may act as a failsafe toensure the authorities are notified. As a result, the hub device 72 mayprovide robust jamming attack detection and notification communicationto handle these scenarios.

To further illustrate, FIG. 8 depicts one possible outcome of the hubdevice 72 notifying the authorities of the jamming attack. In thisexample, the cellular tower 140 transmits the emergency signal 138 tothe desired party (e.g., the police 142). The police 142 may receive thesignal 138 and dispatch a squad car 144 to check on the incident. Apolice officer 146 may arrest the criminal 126. As may be appreciated,even if the criminal 126 is sophisticated enough to attempt to jam thewireless network, the teaching of this disclosure may identify itsoccurrence.

Keeping the above example in mind, FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of amethod 150 for detecting the loss of communication with devices 10within certain thresholds by performing clear channel verification. Themethod may be implemented as computer instructions stored on a tangible,non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory 27) that areexecuted by the processor 28. The method 150 may include performingclear channel verification between the hub device 72 and devices 10(block 152), detecting the loss of communication with a threshold numberof devices 10 within a threshold amount of time (block 154), andtriggering an alarm and/or communicating via a side channel (block 156).However, it should be noted that the method 150 may enable detecting theloss of communication between any devices 10 that stop communicatingwith other devices 10. For example, if the thermostat 46 stopscommunicating with the hazard detector 50, the hub device 72 may detectthat there is an issue.

More specifically, regarding block 152, the hub device 72 may performclear channel verification between each device 10 that wirelesslycommunicates with it and with each other in the smart-home environment30. As previously mentioned, each device 10 may communicate with the hubdevice 72 over a separate or the same channel within the frequency band,and each device 10 may communicate with each other over the wirelessmesh network. Thus, the hub device 72 can perform clear channelverification on each channel to determine which channels are open orincapacitated. That is, the hub device 72 may transmit requests to thedevices 10, and if the hub device 72 receives a response containing datathat its processor 28 can decipher, the channel may be open. On theother hand, if the processor 28 does not receive a response to therequest because of signal failure, then the channel for that particulardevice 10 may be incapacitated. If all of the channels areincapacitated, then the hub device 72 may infer that the wirelessnetwork is being attacked. The reason being is that the odds that alldevices 10 in the smart-home environment 30, which may be multiple(e.g., greater than ten), have their channels incapacitated at the sametime are extremely low. The more probable cause would be that thechannels are being blocked by a jamming attack on the wireless network.

However, if one or two devices' channels are incapacitated, the hubdevice 72 may determine that there is not a jamming attack but, instead,those devices' batteries have died, are malfunctioning, or the like. Asa result, the hub device 72 may notify the homeowner via the userinterface component 14 and/or the speaker 29 to check those devices 10.Then, the homeowner may inspect the particular device 10 and alleviatethe issue (e.g., change batteries). Additionally or alternatively, thehub device 72 may keep track of which devices' channels areincapacitated over time. That is, one device's channel may becomeincapacitated early in a month and the homeowner may neglect to replaceits battery, for example. Then, throughout the month, other devices'channels may become incapacitated and, again, the homeowner may neglectto change their batteries. The hub device 72 may keep track of thisgradual device 10 channel incapacitation so that if all the channels areeventually incapacitated at the same time, the hub device 72 maydetermine it is due to another reason besides a jamming attack.

In other words, the hub device 72 may learn the steady-statecharacteristics of the devices 10 within the smart-home environment 30,where the steady-state characteristics include typical maintenance ofthe devices 10 and/or typical operational deficiencies of the devices10. For example, in a smart-home environment 30 that is dynamic in thatthe occupants often add/remove wireless networks or other electronicdevices that negatively impact wireless communications between the hubdevice 72 and other devices, the hub device 72 learns that there mayoften (e.g., once every couple of months) be a loss in communicationwith a relatively small subset of devices (e.g., 20%). In contrast, in asmart-home environment 30 that is relatively static in that theoccupants do not often add/remove wireless networks or other electronicdevices that negatively impact wireless communications between the hubdevice 72 and other devices, the hub device 72 learns that there isseldomly (e.g., once every couple of years) a loss in communication witha relatively small subset of devices. Accordingly, the thresholds of‘number of devices’ and ‘amount of time’ for notifying the occupantsabout an emergency condition indicative of a jamming attack may varyfrom household to household, where the threshold may be relatively highfor dynamic smart-home environments 30 and relatively low for staticsmart-home environments 30.

In addition, the hub device 72 may keep track of the amount of time thatcertain devices 10 typically take to respond to a request. In this way,the hub device 72 may not determine that a jamming attack is occurringif one device 10 takes longer to respond to a request than anotherdevice 10. Furthermore, the hub device 72 may learn the devices 10response rates in correlation to their battery level or bandwidthavailability. For example, the hub device 72 may learn the responsetimes for a device 10 over the course of its battery life. As thebattery becomes more drained, its response time may become extended. Insuch a scenario, the hub device 72 can alert the user to replace thebatteries soon. Also, the hub device 72 may learn each device's responsetimes in correlation to their bandwidth. For example, a device 10 maytake longer to respond if its bandwidth is low (e.g., it is busyhandling other requests or processes) at certain times of the day. Insuch a case, the hub device 72 may determine that a jamming attack isnot occurring and the particular device 10 is just busy.

Therefore, block 154 enables detecting loss of communication between athreshold number of devices 10 within a threshold amount of time. Thethreshold number of devices 10 may be configurable and be any number.For example, in some embodiments, the threshold number of devices 10 maybe defaulted to a certain number, such as five. Setting a thresholdnumber of devices 10 that stop communicating with each other may inhibitdetecting jamming attacks incorrectly. As discussed above, if one or twodevices 10 fail to communicate, it may be due to their batteries beingdead, a malfunction, or the like. Further, setting a threshold amount oftime that the threshold number of devices 10 fail to communicate withinor threshold length of time the devices 10 have not communicated witheach other may also inhibit detecting jamming attacks incorrectly. Insome embodiments, the threshold amount of time may be configurable anddefaulted to a certain length, such as one minute. If the thresholdnumber of devices stop communicating within the one minute timethreshold, then the hub device 72 may determine that there is a jammingattack. Further, the hub device 72 may also analyze whether thethreshold number of devices stop communicating for a threshold length oftime. The time limit may be beneficial because devices 10 may stopcommunicating with each other briefly (e.g., ten seconds) and then begincommunicating again. Take for example, when a user restarts a device 10,such as a router/modem 60, the device 10 may be shut down for a periodof time and then is back online fairly quickly. Therefore, the hubdevice 72 may wait a threshold amount of time and recheck theincapacitated channels to ensure that the devices 10 are actually beingjammed, but the length of time should not be so long (e.g., an hour)that the criminal 126 can execute his or her plan.

Additionally or alternatively, each device 10 communicating in thewireless network may communicate with the hub device 72 at predeterminedtimes, such as every minute, five minutes, and so forth. And, if adevice 10 fails to communicate with the hub device 72 at that time, thehub device 72 may be put on alert of a possible jamming attack. As such,the hub device 72 may wait for the other devices 10 to check in at theirpredetermined times, and if they fail to communicate at those times,then the hub device 72 may infer that the network is under attack.Again, the hub device 72 may not make this inference unless a thresholdnumber of devices 10 fail to communicate at their predetermined times inorder to inhibit incorrectly announcing a jamming attack.

After the hub device 72 has detected a loss of communication between athreshold number of devices within a threshold amount of time (block154), the hub device 72 will trigger an alarm and/or communicate via aside channel (block 156). In some embodiments, the alarm may be emittedvia the speaker 29 included in the hub device 72. It may include asiren, noise, spoken phrase, or a combination thereof. The alarm may beaudibly loud enough so that the criminal 126 may hear it and be deterredfrom proceeding with his plan. Additionally, the hub device 72 mayleverage its side channel communication to send the emergency signalsince the wireless network is being jammed. As previously discussed, theside communication channel may include utilizing the cellular component26 (e.g., 3G, 4G, LTE) to transmit the signal to a cellular tower 140,which may transmit the signal to a desired party, such as theauthorities, the security company, or the homeowner's cell phone. Thus,if the homeowner is not at home, the hub device 72 may alert thehomeowner that his or her home network is being subjected to a jammingattack. Further, the authorities may respond appropriately afterreceiving the emergency signal and, as seen in the above example, maythwart the criminal's plot.

In another embodiment, remote servers 160 may ping the hub device 72 todetermine whether the hub device 72 is subject to a jamming attack, asdepicted in FIG. 10. The remote servers 160 may be Nest® servers, andthey may routinely ping the hub device 72 or other devices 10 in thesmart-home environment 30. If there is no return signal from the hubdevice 72, either via the Internet 62 or 3G, within a predeterminedperiod of time, an alert can be transmitted from the remote servers 160to the homeowner, authorities, security company, or the like. Thethreshold amount of time the remote servers 160 waits for a response maybe configurable and set to a default value (e.g., one second, tenseconds). The alert may indicate that a wireless communication jammingattack has been detected. Further, the servers 160 may initially pingthe hub device 72 over a wireless network and if the hub device 72 doesnot respond within a threshold period of time, the servers 160 may pingthe hub device 72 over a wired network connection to determine whetherthe wireless network is subject to a wireless communication jammingattack or whether the hub device 72 is just inoperable.

In yet another embodiment, the hub device 72 may be configured toperform a confirmation of failure process. For example, if the hubdevice 72 suspects that there is a jamming attack (e.g., 10% of thedevices 10 are being affected), the hub device 72 may try to wake allnodes, or an important subset of the nodes (e.g., devices 10 that arecapable of performing occupancy detection, video recording, audiorecording, etc.). If another threshold (e.g., 20%) of those devices 10do not respond, then the hub device 72 may determine an emergencycondition, such as a jamming attack. This confirmation of failureprocess recognizes that some of the nodes (e.g., devices 10) may be“sleepy” nodes in that they enter a sleep mode after a period ofnon-activity. While the sleepy nodes may take sensor readings and bufferthem while sleeping, the sleepy nodes may only communicate with the hubdevice 72 intermittently (e.g., every 90 seconds). Thus, if the hubdevice 72 suspects a jamming attack, it can instruct the sleepy nodes tostay awake after they check in with the hub device 72. If the sleepynode successfully stays awake and continues to communicate with the hubdevice 72, then the hub device 72 may determine that a jamming attack isnot occurring. However, if the sleepy node does not stay awake, and,especially, if it fails to check in, the hub device 72 is more likely todetermine that it is subject to a jamming attack.

A method 162 describing the above embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 11.The method 162 may be implemented as computer instructions stored on atangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium that are executed byone or more processors of the remote servers 160. The method 162 mayinclude pinging the hub device 72 from remote servers 160 (block 164),detecting a loss of communication within certain thresholds (block 166),and alerting the homeowner, authorities, and/or security company ifdetected (block 168). It should be understood that the remote servers160 may utilize this method 162 for any or all devices 10 that arecapable of communicating in the smart-home environment 30 and not justthe hub device 72. More specifically, block 164 may include the remoteservers 160 pinging the hub device 72 and/or any other device 10 in thesmart-home environment 30 to determine whether it is able to communicateover the wireless network as expected. Generally, the hub device 72and/or other devices 10 should send a response signal to the remoteservers 160 very quickly (e.g., milliseconds) since there may not be alarge number of nodes to pass through between the remote servers 160 andthe hub device 72 and/or other devices 10. Thus, in block 166, themethod 162 will detect a loss of communication with the hub device 72and/or other devices 10 if they do not respond within a certainthreshold amount of time, as described above.

Further, in some embodiments, the remote servers 160 may try pinging thehub device 72 and/or other devices 10 a threshold number of times beforeinferring that action needs to be taken. For example, the remote servers160 may ping the hub device 72 and wait the threshold amount of time,which may be one second. If the hub device 72 does not respond withinone second, the remote servers 160 may continue to ping the hub device72 again every second until either a response is returned to the remoteservers 160 or the threshold number of tries has been exceeded, at whichpoint the remote servers 160 may notify the homeowner, authorities,security company, or the like, of a potential wireless network jammingattack.

In certain embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the hub device 72 mayinclude at least two radios (e.g., radio A 20 and radio B 22) thattransmit heartbeat signals 170 to one another. It should be noted thatany or all of the other devices 10 in the smart-home environment 30 maybe equipped with these radios 20 and 22 that send heartbeat signals 170to each other. In an embodiment, one of the radios 20 and/or 22 may be ahigher power radio that communicates via WiFi and the other radio may bea lower power radio that communicates via Bluetooth® low energy (BLE),for example. The radios 20 and 22 may be configured to communicate via802.11 wireless networks, 802.15.4 wireless networks, and the like.

This embodiment may be beneficial at least to the extent that there is achannel overlap between two devices 10 in the network. That is, if thehub device 72 performs clear channel verification on one channel sharedby more than one device 10, one of the devices that is not jammed mayrespond to the hub device 72, which may infer that the channel is openeven though another device 10 on the same channel is being jammed. Thus,the device 10 that is being jammed may utilize its radios to emit theheartbeat signal 170 from radio A 20 and try to detect the signal 170 onradio B 22. If radio B 22 detects the heartbeat signal 170, then thewireless network may not be jammed. However, if radio B 22 fails todetect the heartbeat signal 170, the hub device 72 and/or other devices10 may determine that the network is under a jamming attack. As aresult, the hub device 72 and/or other devices 10 may trigger the alarmand/or communicate via the side channel (3G cellular component) to adesired party. As may be appreciated, this self-monitoring heartbeatfeature of the devices 10 further adds to the robustness of the jammingattack detection techniques.

A method 172 describing the radio heartbeat embodiment described aboveis illustrated in FIG. 13. The method 172 may be implemented as computerinstructions stored on a tangible, non-transitory computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 27) that are executed by the processor 28. Themethod 172 may include sending a heartbeat signal 170 between radios 20and 22 in the hub device 72 and/or other devices 10 (block 174),detecting a loss of communication between the radios 20 and 22 (block176), and triggering an alarm and/or communicating via a side channel ifdetected (block 178). More specifically, block 174 may includetransmitting the heartbeat signal 170 by radio A 20 and/or radio B 22and trying to detect the signal 170 at the other radio. The frequency oftransmitting the heartbeat signal 170 may be predetermined, for exampleevery few seconds, a minute, five minutes, and so forth. Additionally oralternatively, the frequency of transmission may be configurable by thehomeowner and/or remote servers. The frequency of the radiowavetransmitted may also be predetermined, for example 800 Mhz, 802 Mhz, 804Mhz, 900 Mhz, 902 Mhz, in the kHz range, GHz range, etc.

Further, detecting a loss of communication between the radios 20 and 22(block 176) may depend on a number of factors. In some embodiments, thehub device 72 and/or other devices 10 may determine that the network isunder a jamming attack after one heartbeat signal 170 is missed.However, in other embodiments, blocks 174 and 176 may be repeated adesired amount of times. That is, the hub device 72 and/or other devices10 may send a threshold number of heartbeat signals 170 that fail to bedetected by one of the radios before inferring there is loss ofcommunication between the radios 20 and 22. Further, the radios 20 and22 may wait a threshold amount of time between each heartbeat signal 170to see if the noise that was blocking the signal was temporary.Additionally or alternatively, after an initial heartbeat signal 170fails to be detected, the higher power radio may transmit a signal 170with a much higher voltage to try to determine whether the network isbeing jammed. A signal with a higher voltage may be more likely to bereceived by the second radio if there is some noise in the network. Inany embodiment, when the hub device 72 and/or other devices 10determines a loss of communication between the radios 20 and 22, the hubdevice 72 and/or other devices 10 may trigger the alarm and/orcommunicate via a side channel (e.g., 3G cellular component) to send adistress signal to a desired party.

In some cases, it may be desirable for the hub device 72 to confirm thata jamming attack is underway with a device 10 that is connected via awire 180, as illustrated in FIG. 14. The hub device 72 may utilize itswired component 24, which may be an Ethernet port, to connect to anotherdevice 10. In one embodiment, the connected device 10 may be a router 60and it may be further connected to the Internet 62. When requested, therouter 60 may confirm whether the jamming attack detected by the hubdevice 72 is legitimate or if the wireless network is still availablebut the devices 10 in the network are inoperable. To achieve this, thedevice 10 may ping the devices 10 in the wireless network to see if theyrespond. If none of the devices 10 respond or the router 60 determinesthat the network is unavailable, then the device 10 may return a jammingattack confirmation to the hub device 72. As a result, the hub device72, may trigger the alarm and/or communicate via a side channel orrequest the router 60 connected to the Internet 62 to communicate to adesired party.

In another embodiment, the connected device 10 may be any of the devices10 located in the home environment 30 and the device 10 may not beconnected to the Internet 62 via a wire. When asked, the connecteddevice 10 may attempt to wirelessly communicate with other devices 10throughout the home environment 30. If the connected device 10 issuccessfully able to communicate with other devices 10 over the wirelessmesh network, then the connected device 10 will not confirm a jammingattack. On the other hand, if the connected device 10 is not able tocommunicate with a threshold number of devices 10 within a thresholdamount of time over the wireless mesh network, then it may return ajamming attack confirmation to the hub device 72. As a result, the hubdevice 72, may trigger the alarm and/or communicate via a side channelor request the device 10 to communicate an emergency signal.

Additionally, in an embodiment, if a hub device 72 fails to receive thetransmitted heartbeat signal between its radios 20 and 22, then the hubdevice 72 may be configured to confirm with other hub devices 72 whethertheir heartbeat signals are also failing. For example, the hub device 72with the failing heartbeat may ask a second (or third, fourth, etc.) hubdevice 72 to ascertain whether those other hub devices 72 have also losttheir heartbeat. If the other hub devices 72 have lost their heartbeats,too, then the hub device 72 may trigger the alarm or transmit anemergency signal via a side channel.

A method 182 for the hub device 72 confirming a detected jamming attackwith a wired device 10 is illustrated in FIG. 15. The method 182 may beimplemented as computer instructions stored on a tangible,non-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory 27) that areexecuted by the processor 28. The method may include detecting a jammingattack by the hub device 72 (block 184), confirming the jamming attackwith a wired device 10 (block 186), and triggering the alarm and/orcommunicating via a side channel or requesting the wired device 10 tocommunicate to a desired party if detected (block 188). Morespecifically, in block 184 the hub device 72 may detect the jammingattack using one of the embodiments described above. Once detected, thehub device 72 may request a device 10 that is wired to the hub device 72(e.g., via an Ethernet cable or the like) to confirm that a jammingattack on the wireless network is indeed underway.

As previously discussed, the device may be a router 60 connected to theInternet 62 via another wire. The router 60 may try to ping devices 10that are communicating within the wireless network to determine whetherthe network is available. Further, the router 60 may try to ping thewireless network to see if it responds. If it the devices 10 respond orthe network returns a response, then the wired device 10 may determinethat there is no jamming attack and the hub device 72 has misdiagnosedthe failed communications. As a result, the router 60 may notify the hubdevice 72 that the wireless network is available and the hub device 72may not trigger the alarm.

On the other hand, if the router 60 does not receive a response from thedevices 10 in the smart-home environment 30 or from the network, thenthe router 60 may determine that the network is being subjected to ajamming attack. As a result, the router 60 may return a jamming attackconfirmation to the hub device 72, which may then trigger the alarmand/or communicate via a side channel (e.g., 3G, 4G) that a jammingattack has been detected (block 188). Additionally or alternatively, thehub device 72 may request the router 60 to communicate via the Internet62 to a desired party, such as the authorities, the homeowner, thesecurity company, or the like, that a jamming attack has been detected.

Also, in other embodiments, the connected device 10 may be anotherdevice 10 in the smart home environment 30, such as a hazard detector50, thermostat 46, and so forth. The hub device 72 may request theconnected device 10 to confirm the detected jamming attack in block 186,and the connected device 10 may attempt to communicate with otherdevices in the smart-home environment 30 via the wireless mesh network.If the connected device 10 also fails to receive responses from athreshold amount of devices 10, then the connected device 10 may confirmthat a jamming attack is underway. As a result, the hub device 72 maythen trigger the alarm and/or communicate via a side channel (e.g., 3G,4G) that a jamming attack has been detected (block 188). Additionally oralternatively, the hub device 72 may request the connected device 10 tocommunicate via its side channel to a desired party, such as theauthorities, the homeowner, the security company, or the like, that ajamming attack has been detected.

This written description uses examples to disclose the techniques,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the techniques, including making and using any devicesor systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scopeof the disclosure is defined by the claims, and may include otherexamples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples areintended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structuralelements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, orif they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantialdifferences from the literal language of the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic device, comprising: a powersource configured to provide operational power to the electronic device;a network interface comprising a wireless radio, the wireless radiobeing configured to wirelessly communicate with a plurality ofelectronic devices over one or more wireless channels; and a processorin communication with the network interface, the processor beingconfigured to: learn steady-state characteristics of the plurality ofelectronic devices that communicate over the one or more wirelesschannels; perform a clear channel verification utilizing the networkinterface of the one or more wireless channels, wherein the clearchannel verification considers the steady-state characteristics whenperforming the clear channel verification; and determine, based on theclear channel verification, whether any wireless channels of the one ormore wireless channels are incapacitated.
 2. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: determine thata wireless network is being jammed based upon at least a thresholdnumber of the one or more wireless channels being incapacitated within athreshold period of time.
 3. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe processor is further configured to detect a loss of communicationwith one or more of the plurality of electronic devices via the one ormore wireless channels as part of the clear channel verification.
 4. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured toperform the clear channel verification on each of the one or morewireless channels due to at least one electronic device of the pluralityof electronic devices using the one or more wireless channels forcommunication with the electronic device.
 5. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the electronic device is a smart-home hub device thatcommunicates with a plurality of smart-home devices, wherein theplurality of smart-home devices comprises the plurality of electronicdevices.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor isfurther configured to cause an alarm to be transmitted via a sidechannel in response to determining any of the wireless channels of theone or more wireless channels are incapacitated, wherein the sidechannel is at a frequency distinct from frequencies of the one or morewireless channels.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, furthercomprising a speaker, wherein the processor is configured to cause analert to be output via the speaker in response to determining that anywireless channel of the one or more wireless channels are being jammed.8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the processor beingconfigured to perform the clear channel verification comprises theprocessor being configured to: transmit a request to each of theplurality of electronic devices via the one or more wireless channels;and determine if a response containing data was received from each ofthe plurality of electronic devices that is decipherable by theprocessor.
 9. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable mediumcomprising instructions configured to be executed by one or moreprocessors of an electronic device, the instructions causing the one ormore processors to: learn steady-state characteristics of one or moreelectronic devices that communicate over one or more wireless channels;perform a clear channel verification of the one or more wirelesschannels utilizing a wireless network interface, wherein the clearchannel verification considers the steady-state characteristics whenperforming the clear channel verification; and determine, based on theclear channel verification, whether any wireless channels of the one ormore wireless channels are incapacitated.
 10. The tangible,non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein theinstructions further cause the one or more processors to: determine thata wireless network is being jammed based upon at least a thresholdnumber of the one or more wireless channels being incapacitated within athreshold period of time.
 11. The tangible, non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the instructions furthercause the one or more processors to: perform the clear channelverification on each of the one or more wireless channels due to atleast one electronic device of the one or more electronic devices usingthe one or more wireless channels for communication with the electronicdevice.
 12. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 9, wherein the electronic device is a smart-home hub device thatcommunicates with one or more smart-home devices, wherein the one ormore smart-home devices comprises the one or more electronic devices.13. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the one or more processors being configured to perform the clearchannel verification comprises the one or more processors beingconfigured to: cause a request to be transmitted to each of the one ormore electronic devices via the one or more wireless channels; anddetermine if a response containing data was received from each of theone or more electronic devices that is decipherable.
 14. A smart-homedevice system, comprising: a plurality of smart-home devices; and asmart-home hub device, comprising: a power source configured to provideoperational power to the smart-home hub device; a network interfacecomprising a wireless radio, the wireless radio being configured towirelessly communicate with the plurality of smart-home devices over oneor more wireless channels; and a processor in communication with thenetwork interface, the processor being configured to: learn steady-statecharacteristics of the plurality of smart-home devices that communicateover the one or more wireless channels; perform a clear channelverification utilizing the network interface of the one or more wirelesschannels, wherein the clear channel verification considers thesteady-state characteristics when performing the clear channelverification; and determine, based on the clear channel verification,whether any wireless channels of the one or more wireless channels areincapacitated.
 15. The smart-home device system of claim 14, wherein theprocessor of the smart-home hub device is further configured to:determine that a wireless network is being jammed based upon at least athreshold number of the one or more wireless channels beingincapacitated within a threshold period of time.
 16. The smart-homedevice system of claim 14, wherein the processor of the smart-home hubdevice is further configured to detect a loss of communication with oneor more of the plurality of smart-home devices via the one or morewireless channels as part of the clear channel verification.
 17. Thesmart-home device system of claim 14, wherein the processor of thesmart-home hub device is configured to perform the clear channelverification on each of the one or more wireless channels due to atleast one smart-home device of the plurality of smart-home devices usingthe one or more wireless channels for communication with the smart-homehub device.
 18. The smart-home device system of claim 14, wherein theprocessor of the smart-home hub device is further configured to cause analarm to be transmitted via a side channel in response to determiningany of the wireless channels of the one or more wireless channels areincapacitated, wherein the side channel is at a frequency distinct fromthe frequencies of the one or more wireless channels.
 19. The smart-homedevice system of claim 14, wherein the smart-home hub device furthercomprising a speaker, wherein the processor is configured to cause analert to be output via the speaker in response to determining that anywireless channel of the one or more wireless channels are beingincapacitated.
 20. The smart-home device system of claim 14, wherein theprocessor of the smart-home hub device being configured to perform theclear channel verification comprises the processor being configured to:transmit a request to each of the plurality of smart-home devices viathe one or more wireless channels; and determine if a responsecontaining data from each of the plurality of smart-home devices wasreceived that is decipherable by the processor.